forfaitvsformaitWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: forfait is a noun, formait is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“forfait” is a noun and “formait” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,333
“forfait” frequency rank
#22,865
“formait” frequency rank
27198
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature forfait formait
Definition Crime commis avec audace. Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de former.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
forfait
7 ch
formait

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: forfait is \fɔʁ.fɛ\ while formait is \fɔʁ.mɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - f in “forfait” becomes m in “formait”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

forfait is recorded at frequency rank #4,333, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔʁ.fɛ\. formait is at rank #22,865, tagged as averb, pronounced \fɔʁ.mɛ\.

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 27198, this pair ranks #330,503 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of forfait vs formait

Shared letters: afiort. Private to "forfait": -. Private to "formait": m.

"forfait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "formait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • forfaitfforfait · fofrait · forafit · forfaitt · forfati · forffait · forfiat · forrfait
  • formaitfformait · fomrait · foramit · formaitt · formati · formiat · formmait · forrmait

Frequency comparison

forfait#4,333
formait#22,865

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "forfait" and "formait" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "forfait" is a noun and "formait" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "forfait" or "formait"?
"forfait" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,333 in our French list, against #22,865 for "formait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering forfait vs formait

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “forfait”; for a verb, it's “formait”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “forfait” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list