informalvsinformeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#8,533
“informal” frequency rank
#1,090
“informe” frequency rank
9623
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature informal informe
Definition Que no sigue o tiene las formas, reglas, normas o convenciones establecidas. Opinión fundada en noticias y datos acerca de alguna persona o cosa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set informal and informe apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
informal
7 ch
informe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: informal is [ĩɱfoɾˈmal] while informe is [ĩɱˈfoɾme]. 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 9623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

informal is recorded at frequency rank #8,533, classified as anadj, pronounced [ĩɱfoɾˈmal]. informe is at rank #1,090, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ĩɱˈfoɾme].

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 9623, this pair ranks #301,370 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of informal vs informe

Shared letters: fimnor. Private to "informal": al. Private to "informe": e.

"informal" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "informe" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • informalifnormal · infformal · infomral · inforaml · informall · informla · informmal · inforrmal
  • informeifnorme · infforme · infomre · inforem · informme · inforrme · infrome · innforme

Frequency comparison

informal#8,533
informe#1,090

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "informal" and "informe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "informal" is an adjective and "informe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "informal" or "informe"?
"informe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,090 in our Spanish list, against #8,533 for "informal". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering informal vs informe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “informal”; for a noun, it's “informe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “informal” 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