Which to use
“foram” and “formar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #97
- “foram” frequency rank
- #3,014
- “formar” frequency rank
- 3111
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foram | formar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo ser | dar forma a; constituir; compor |
Where the eye mixes foram and formar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: foram vs formar
A purely visual mix-up. foram (/ˈfo.ɾã/) and formar (/fuɾ.ˈmaɾ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foram is recorded at frequency rank #97, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfo.ɾã/. formar is at rank #3,014, tagged as averb, pronounced /fuɾ.ˈmaɾ/.
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 3111, this pair ranks #72,094 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of foram vs formar
Shared letters: afmor. Private to "foram": -. Private to "formar": -.
"foram" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "formar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "foram" and "formar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "foram" or "formar"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "foram" and "formar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "foram" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "formar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,094 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foram" and "formar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fartar vs formar". 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 #72,094 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.