Formosa

/foɾ.ˈmɔ.zɐ/

//foɾ.ˈmɔ.zɐ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Formosa” is a moderately-common Portuguese word, ranked #18,600 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a noun.

#18,600
frequency rank, Portuguese
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - país asiático próximo à China

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Formosa vs fórmula
43% similar
Formosa vs formoso
71% similar
Formosa vs fomos
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Formosa
PropertyValue
HeadwordFormosa
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/foɾ.ˈmɔ.zɐ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,600
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Formosa” sits in Portuguese frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Formosa lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for Formosa is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /foɾ.ˈmɔ.zɐ/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,600 in overall Portuguese word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Formosa, with forms such as "fformosa", "fomrosa", and "formmosa". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "fórmula", "formoso", "fomos", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct Portuguese form is Formosa, spelled F-O-R-M-O-S-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    país asiático próximo à China
  2. 2
    ilha localizada no leste da Ásia
  3. 3
    ilha africana, pertencente a Guiné-Bissau
  4. 4
    província na Argentina
  5. 5
    capital dessa província
  6. 6
    município no Estado de Goiás (Brasil)
  7. 7
    município no distrito de Portalegre (Portugal)
  8. 8
    município no distrito de Santarém (Portugal)
  9. 9
    município no estado de Arkansas (Estados Unidos)
  10. 10
    município na província de Virgínia (Estados Unidos)
  11. 11
    município na província de Ontário (Canadá)

Synonyms

República da ChinaTaiwanTaiwan

This word in other languages

Taiwan(English)Taiwán(Español)Taiwan(Français)Taiwan(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: fformosa,fomrosa,formmosa,formoas,formossa,formsoa,foromsa,forrmosa,fromosa,ofrmosa

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Formosa - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

fformosa1fomrosa2formmosa1formoas2formossa1formsoa2foromsa2forrmosa1
Edit distance from "Formosa"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Formosa"?
"Formosa" is spelled F-O-R-M-O-S-A. The IPA pronunciation is /foɾ.ˈmɔ.zɐ/.
What does "Formosa" mean?
As a noun, "Formosa" means: país asiático próximo à China
What words are commonly confused with "Formosa"?
"Formosa" is commonly confused with "fórmula", "formoso", "fomos". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Formosa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Formosa" is /foɾ.ˈmɔ.zɐ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Formosa" come from?
"Formosa" is a Portuguese word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Formosa”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is F-O-R-M-O-S-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /foɾ.ˈmɔ.zɐ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fórmula” - see the side-by-side comparison. Formosa vs fórmula
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list