formulierenvsformuliertenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: formulieren is a verb, formulierten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“formulieren” is a verb and “formulierten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,086
“formulieren” frequency rank
#28,192
“formulierten” frequency rank
38278
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature formulieren formulierten
Definition einen Wortlaut von etwas festlegen/definieren bzw. einen kurzen, verfestigten sprachlichen Ausdruck festlegen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs formuliert

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set formulieren and formulierten apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
formulieren
12 ch
formulierten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: formulieren is [fɔʁmuˈliːʁən] while formulierten is [fɔʁmuˈliːɐ̯tn̩]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

formulieren is recorded at frequency rank #10,086, classified as averb, pronounced [fɔʁmuˈliːʁən]. formulierten is at rank #28,192, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɔʁmuˈliːɐ̯tn̩].

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 38278, this pair ranks #1,568,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of formulieren vs formulierten

Shared letters: efilmnoru. Private to "formulieren": -. Private to "formulierten": t.

"formulieren" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC  ·  "formulierten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • formulierenfformulieren · fomrulieren · formluieren · formmulieren · formuileren · formuleiren · formulieern · formulierenn
  • formuliertenfformulierten · fomrulierten · formluierten · formmulierten · formuilerten · formuleirten · formulieretn · formulierrten

Frequency comparison

formulieren#10,086
formulierten#28,192

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "formulieren" and "formulierten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "formulieren" is a verb and "formulierten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "formulieren" or "formulierten"?
"formulieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,086 in our German list, against #28,192 for "formulierten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering formulieren vs formulierten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “formulieren”; for an adjective, it's “formulierten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “formulieren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list