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 eye mixes formulieren and formulierten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. formulieren runs 11 letters (CVCCVCVVCVC) against formulierten's 12 (CVCCVCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses formulieren with formulierten
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
- formulieren ← fformulieren · fomrulieren · formluieren · formmulieren · formuileren · formuleiren · formulieern · formulierenn
- formulierten ← fformulierten · fomrulierten · formluierten · formmulierten · formuilerten · formuleirten · formulieretn · formulierrten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "formulieren" for "formulierten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "formulieren" or "formulierten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "formulieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "formulierten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,568,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "formulieren" and "formulierten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "formatieren vs formulieren". 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 #1,568,075 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.