formalevsformulaWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: formale is a adjective, formula is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“formale” is an adjective and “formula” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,293
“formale” frequency rank
#38,745
“formula” frequency rank
56038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature formale formula
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs formal die Formel

Letter map: formale vs formula

Shared letters muted; letters that set formale and formula apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

7 ch
formale
7 ch
formula

Grammar separator: formale vs formula

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: formale is anadjective and formulaanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

formale is recorded at frequency rank #17,293, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɔʁˈmaːlə]. formula is at rank #38,745, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 56038, this pair ranks #956,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of formale vs formula

Shared letters: aflmor. Private to "formale": e. Private to "formula": u.

"formale" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "formula" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • formalefformale · fomrale · foramle · formael · formalle · formlae · formmale · forrmale
  • formulafformula · fomrula · formlua · formmula · formual · formulla · forrmula · forumla

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "formale" and "formula" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "formale" is an adjective and "formula" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "formale" or "formula"?
"formale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,293 in our German list, against #38,745 for "formula". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "formale" and "formula". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "formale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "formula" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #956,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "formale" and "formula" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "formula vs puzzles". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #956,045 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list