Which to use
“format” and “formes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,518
- “format” frequency rank
- #1,626
- “formes” frequency rank
- 4144
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | format | formes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dimensions caractéristiques d’un objet. | Pluriel de forme. |
Where the eye mixes format and formes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses format with formes
A purely visual mix-up. format (\fɔʁ.ma\) and formes (\fɔʁm\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
format is recorded at frequency rank #2,518, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔʁ.ma\. formes is at rank #1,626, tagged as anoun, 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 4144, this pair ranks #432,342 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of format vs formes
Shared letters: fmor. Private to "format": at. Private to "formes": es.
"format" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "formes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "format" for "formes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "format" vs "formes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "format" and "formes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "format" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "formes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,342 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "format" and "formes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "format vs formater". 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 #432,342 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.