Which to use
“ferme” is an adjective and “form” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,138
- “ferme” frequency rank
- #26,370
- “form” frequency rank
- 27508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ferme | form |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a de la consistance, qui offre une certaine résistance. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de formen. |
Where the eye mixes ferme and form
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ferme with form
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ferme is \fɛʁm\ while form is \fɔʁm\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ferme is recorded at frequency rank #1,138, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛʁm\. form is at rank #26,370, tagged as averb, pronounced \fɔʁm\.
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 27508, this pair ranks #328,527 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ferme vs form
Shared letters: fmr. Private to "ferme": e. Private to "form": o.
"ferme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "form" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ferme" and "form" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ferme" or "form"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ferme" and "form" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ferme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "form" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #328,527 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ferme" and "form" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "form vs FPR". 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 #328,527 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.