formalervsFormateWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#46,651
“formaler” frequency rank
#12,710
“Formate” frequency rank
59361
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature formaler Formate
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs formal Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Format

Where the eye mixes formaler and Formate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
formaler
7 ch
Formate

Visual trap between formaler and Formate

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: formaler is [fɔʁˈmaːlɐ] while Formate is [fɔʁˈmaːtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

formaler is recorded at frequency rank #46,651, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɔʁˈmaːlɐ]. Formate is at rank #12,710, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɔʁˈmaːtə].

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 59361, this pair ranks #827,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of formaler vs Formate

Shared letters: aefmor. Private to "formaler": l. Private to "Formate": t.

"formaler" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Formate" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • formalerfformaler · fomraler · foramler · formaelr · formalerr · formaller · formalre · formlaer
  • Formatefformate · fomrate · foramte · formaet · formatte · formmate · formtae · forrmate

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "formaler" and "Formate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "formaler" is an adjective and "Formate" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "formaler" or "Formate"?
"Formate" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,710 in our German list, against #46,651 for "formaler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "formaler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Formate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #827,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "formaler" and "Formate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "formaler vs Formaten". 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 #827,407 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