fungus

/ˈfʌŋ.ɡəs/

//ˈfʌŋ.ɡəs// noun

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

"fungus" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fungus” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,329. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,329
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any member of the kingdom Fungi; a eukaryotic organism typically having chitin cell walls but no chlorophyll or plastids. Fungi may be unicellular or multicellular.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fungus · fungus · English

fungus · rank #14,329 · 9 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,329
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Franz

Nearest frequency peer: Franz (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fungus”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fungus” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

fungus vs fung
67% similar
fungus vs funds
67% similar
fungus vs fungi
67% similar

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

Key facts for fungus
PropertyValue
Headwordfungus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfʌŋ.ɡəs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,329
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fungus”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).funguslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Franz” (#14,328), “fragrance” (#14,327), “Gloucester” (#14,331). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fungus” is #14,329. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around fungus (IPA /ˈfʌŋ.ɡəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,329 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for fungus, with forms such as "ffungus", "fnugus", and "fugnus". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "fung", "funds", "fungi", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin fungus (“mushroom”). The correct English form is fungus, spelled F-U-N-G-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any member of the kingdom Fungi; a eukaryotic organism typically having chitin cell walls but no chlorophyll or plastids. Fungi may be unicellular or multicellular.
  2. 2
    A spongy, abnormal excrescence, such as excessive granulation tissue formed in a wound.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how fungus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fungus (“mushroom”).

Synonyms

fungus

This word in other languages

hongo(Español)fongus(Français)Pilz(Deutsch)fungo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffungus
  • fnugus
  • fugnus
  • funggus
  • fungsu
  • funguss
  • funngus
  • funugs
  • ufngus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fungus - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffungus1fnugus2fugnus2funggus1fungsu2funguss1funngus1funugs2
Edit distance from "fungus"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fungus"?
"fungus" is spelled F-U-N-G-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfʌŋ.ɡəs/.
What does "fungus" mean?
As a noun, "fungus" means: Any member of the kingdom Fungi; a eukaryotic organism typically having chitin cell walls but no chlorophyll or plastids. Fungi may be unicellular or multicellular.
What words are commonly confused with "fungus"?
"fungus" is commonly confused with "fung", "funds", "fungi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fungus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fungus" is /ˈfʌŋ.ɡəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fungus"?
Borrowed from Latin fungus (“mushroom”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fungus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Havana#14,336Hilary#14,338devote#14,311Kerala#14,348

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

heroine9 variantsDalton9 variantschoked9 variantsMelanie9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list