formen

Formen is the plural form of the German noun Form, meaning forms, shapes, configurations, or types. In everyday language it can refer to multiple shapes or versions of something, as in different forms of expression or different physical forms of an object.

Etymology and usage arise from the Latin forma, passed into German through historical languages such as Old High German and Old French. The standard plural ending -en marks Formen as the regular plural in contemporary German usage.

In science and design, Formen is used to discuss variations and typologies. In geometry and art, it refers to shapes or figures; in biology, it can denote morphological forms within a species or population. In agriculture or ecology, one might speak of different plant or animal forms. In linguistics, Formen denotes the inflected forms of words—case, number, tense, mood, or voice—within a given paradigm, such as conjugated verb forms or declined nouns.

Formen also appear in philosophy and aesthetics as a term for structure, pattern, or order that underpins appearance or experience. Phrases like “verschiedene Formen des Lernens” or “Formen des Ausdrucks” illustrate its broad applicability to categories of arrangement or manifestation.

See also: Form (singular), morphological form, grammatical form. Note that Formen functions primarily as a plural noun in German and is not generally used as a standalone term in English beyond discussions of German language grammar.