formar vs furtar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“formar” and “furtar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,014
“formar” frequency rank: #31,387
“furtar” frequency rank: 34401
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	formar	furtar
Definition	dar forma a; constituir; compor	subtrair algo alheio sem uso de violência ou ameaça

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set formar and furtar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

formar

6 ch

furtar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. formar (/fuɾ.ˈmaɾ/) and furtar (/fuɾ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 34401, 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/. furtar is at rank #31,387, tagged as averb, pronounced /fuɾ.ˈtaɾ/.

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 34401, this pair ranks #32,866 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of formar vs furtar

Shared letters: afr. Private to "formar": mo. Private to "furtar": tu.

"formar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "furtar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

formar ← fformar · fomrar · foramr · formarr · formmar · formra · forrmar · fromar
furtar ← ffurtar · frutar · furatr · furrtar · furtarr · furtra · furttar · futrar

Frequency comparison

formar#3,014

furtar#31,387

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "formar" and "furtar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/fuɾ.ˈmaɾ/ versus /fuɾ.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "formar" or "furtar"?

"formar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,014 in our Portuguese list, against #31,387 for "furtar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering formar vs furtar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “formar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable