Which to use
“forms” and “shows” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,276
- “forms” frequency rank
- #8,130
- “shows” frequency rank
- 53406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | forms | shows |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs form | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs show |
Letter map: forms vs shows
Shared letters muted; letters that set forms and shows apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. forms (CVCCC) and shows (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Corpus notes: forms and shows
forms and shows are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
forms is recorded at frequency rank #45,276, classified as averb, pronounced […]. shows is at rank #8,130, tagged as averb, 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 53406, this pair ranks #1,059,260 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of forms vs shows
Shared letters: os. Private to "forms": fmr. Private to "shows": hw.
"forms" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "shows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "forms" for "shows" ever safe?
Frequency check: "forms" vs "shows" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "forms" and "shows".
- Full dictionary entry for "forms" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shows" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,059,260 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "forms" and "shows" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "forms 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 #1,059,260 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.