Which to use
“formule” and “fortune” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,042
- “formule” frequency rank
- #3,076
- “fortune” frequency rank
- 5118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | formule | fortune |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Expression rigoureuse et condensée en termes qui définissent une idée, une doctrine, une croyance, un sophisme, une opération, un ensemble d’opérations. | Hasard, chance. |
Where the eye mixes formule and fortune
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. formule and fortune follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses formule with fortune
A purely visual mix-up. formule (\fɔʁ.myl\) and fortune (\fɔʁ.tyn\) 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 5118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
formule is recorded at frequency rank #2,042, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔʁ.myl\. fortune is at rank #3,076, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔʁ.tyn\.
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 5118, this pair ranks #429,848 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of formule vs fortune
Shared letters: eforu. Private to "formule": lm. Private to "fortune": nt.
"formule" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "fortune" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "formule" and "fortune" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "formule" or "fortune"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "formule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fortune" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #429,848 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "formule" and "fortune" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fortune vs fortunée". 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 #429,848 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.