informalvsinformesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#8,533
“informal” frequency rank
#2,669
“informes” frequency rank
11202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature informal informes
Definition Que no sigue o tiene las formas, reglas, normas o convenciones establecidas. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de informar o de informarse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
informal
8 ch
informes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: informal is [ĩɱfoɾˈmal] while informes is [ĩɱˈfoɾmes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11202, 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]. informes is at rank #2,669, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩɱˈfoɾmes].

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 11202, this pair ranks #295,937 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of informal vs informes

Shared letters: fimnor. Private to "informal": al. Private to "informes": es.

"informal" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "informes" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • informalifnormal · infformal · infomral · inforaml · informall · informla · informmal · inforrmal
  • informesifnormes · infformes · infomres · inforems · informess · informmes · informse · inforrmes

Frequency comparison

informal#8,533
informes#2,669

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "informal" and "informes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "informal" is an adjective and "informes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "informal" or "informes"?
"informes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,669 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 informes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “informal”; for a verb, it's “informes”.
  • 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