funcionanvsfuncioneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,605
“funcionan” frequency rank
#6,534
“funcione” frequency rank
11139
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature funcionan funcione
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de funcionar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de funcionar.

Where the eye mixes funcionan and funcione

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
funcionan
8 ch
funcione

Why the eye confuses funcionan with funcione

A purely visual mix-up. funcionan ([fũnˈsjonãn]) and funcione ([fũnˈsjone]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

funcionan is recorded at frequency rank #4,605, classified as averb, pronounced [fũnˈsjonãn]. funcione is at rank #6,534, tagged as averb, pronounced [fũnˈsjone].

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 11139, this pair ranks #296,137 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of funcionan vs funcione

Shared letters: cfinou. Private to "funcionan": a. Private to "funcione": e.

"funcionan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "funcione" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • funcionanffuncionan · fnucionan · fucnionan · funccionan · funcinoan · funcioann · funcionann · funcionnan
  • funcioneffuncione · fnucione · fucnione · funccione · funcinoe · funcioen · funcionne · funcoine

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "funcionan" and "funcione" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fũnˈsjonãn] versus [fũnˈsjone]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "funcionan" or "funcione" show up more?
"funcionan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,605 in our Spanish list, against #6,534 for "funcione". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "funcionan" and "funcione" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "funcionan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "funcione" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #296,137 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "funcionan" and "funcione" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "funcionan vs fusionan". 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 #296,137 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