funcionarvsfuncionaríaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,412
“funcionar” frequency rank
#23,790
“funcionaría” frequency rank
27202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature funcionar funcionaría
Definition Realizar la o las funciones para lo que una labor o un mecanismo fue concebido. Primera persona del singular (yo) del condicional de funcionar.

Where the eye mixes funcionar and funcionaría

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
funcionar
11 ch
funcionaría

Why the eye confuses funcionar with funcionaría

A purely visual mix-up. funcionar ([fũnsjoˈnaɾ]) and funcionaría ([fũnsjonaˈɾia]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “funcionar” sits inside “funcionaría”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

funcionar is recorded at frequency rank #3,412, classified as averb, pronounced [fũnsjoˈnaɾ]. funcionaría is at rank #23,790, tagged as averb, pronounced [fũnsjonaˈɾia].

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 27202, this pair ranks #227,987 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of funcionar vs funcionaría

Shared letters: acfinoru. Private to "funcionar": -. Private to "funcionaría": í.

"funcionar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "funcionaría" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • funcionarffuncionar · fnucionar · fucnionar · funccionar · funcinoar · funcioanr · funcionarr · funcionnar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "funcionar" for "funcionaría" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fũnsjoˈnaɾ] versus [fũnsjonaˈɾia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "funcionar" or "funcionaría" show up more?
"funcionar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,412 in our Spanish list, against #23,790 for "funcionaría". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "funcionar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "funcionaría" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,987 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "funcionar" and "funcionaría" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "funcionarán vs funcionaría". 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 #227,987 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