funcionabavsfuncionadoConfusable pair

Which to use

“funcionaba” and “funcionado” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,583
“funcionaba” frequency rank
#11,783
“funcionado” frequency rank
23366
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature funcionaba funcionado
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de funcionar. Participio de funcionar.

Where the eye mixes funcionaba and funcionado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

10 ch
funcionaba
10 ch
funcionado

Why the eye confuses funcionaba with funcionado

A purely visual mix-up. funcionaba ([fũnsjoˈnaβ̞a]) and funcionado ([fũnsjoˈnað̞o]) 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 23366, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

funcionaba is recorded at frequency rank #11,583, classified as averb, pronounced [fũnsjoˈnaβ̞a]. funcionado is at rank #11,783, tagged as averb, pronounced [fũnsjoˈnað̞o].

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 23366, this pair ranks #246,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of funcionaba vs funcionado

Shared letters: acfinou. Private to "funcionaba": b. Private to "funcionado": d.

"funcionaba" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCV  ·  "funcionado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • funcionabaffuncionaba · fnucionaba · fucnionaba · funccionaba · funcinoaba · funcioanba · funcionaab · funcionabba
  • funcionadoffuncionado · fnucionado · fucnionado · funccionado · funcinoado · funcioando · funcionaddo · funcionaod

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "funcionaba" and "funcionado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fũnsjoˈnaβ̞a] versus [fũnsjoˈnað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "funcionaba" vs "funcionado" - which ranks higher?
"funcionaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,583 in our Spanish list, against #11,783 for "funcionado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "funcionaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "funcionado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #246,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "funcionaba" and "funcionado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "funcionaba vs funcionarán". 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 #246,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list