Which to use
“formar” is a verb and “former” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,014
- “formar” frequency rank
- #47,368
- “former” frequency rank
- 50382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | formar | former |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dar forma a; constituir; compor | formador |
Letter map: formar vs former
Shared letters muted; letters that set formar and former apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Grammar separator: formar vs former
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: formar is averb and formeranoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - a in “formar” becomes e in “former”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
formar is recorded at frequency rank #3,014, classified as averb, pronounced /fuɾ.ˈmaɾ/. former is at rank #47,368, tagged as anoun.
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 50382, this pair ranks #14,586 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of formar vs former
Shared letters: fmor. Private to "formar": a. Private to "former": e.
"formar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "former" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "formar" and "former" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "formar" or "former"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "formar" and "former". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "formar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "former" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,586 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "formar" and "former" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "former vs formol". 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 #14,586 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.