transformavstransformaitWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“transforma” and “transformait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,341
“transforma” frequency rank
#45,354
“transformait” frequency rank
79695
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature transforma transformait
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de transformer. Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de transformer.

Where the eye mixes transforma and transformait

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

10 ch
transforma
12 ch
transformait

Look-alike desk: transforma vs transformait

A purely visual mix-up. transforma (\tʁɑ̃s.fɔʁ.ma\) and transformait (\tʁɑ̃s.fɔʁ.mɛ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “transforma” sits inside “transformait”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79695, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

transforma is recorded at frequency rank #34,341, classified as averb, pronounced \tʁɑ̃s.fɔʁ.ma\. transformait is at rank #45,354, tagged as averb, pronounced \tʁɑ̃s.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 79695, this pair ranks #22,700 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of transforma vs transformait

Shared letters: afmnorst. Private to "transforma": -. Private to "transformait": i.

"transforma" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCV  ·  "transformait" · 12 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • transformartansforma · tarnsforma · tranfsorma · trannsforma · transfforma · transfomra · transforam · transformma
  • transformaitrtansformait · tarnsformait · tranfsormait · trannsformait · transfformait · transfomrait · transforamit · transformaitt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "transforma" for "transformait" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\tʁɑ̃s.fɔʁ.ma\ versus \tʁɑ̃s.fɔʁ.mɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "transforma" or "transformait" show up more?
"transforma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,341 in our French list, against #45,354 for "transformait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "transforma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "transformait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,700 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "transforma" and "transformait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "transforma vs transformez". 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 #22,700 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list