funcionarvsfuncionaronTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,412
“funcionar” frequency rank
#30,090
“funcionaron” frequency rank
33502
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature funcionar funcionaron
Definition Realizar la o las funciones para lo que una labor o un mecanismo fue concebido. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de funcionar.

Where the eye mixes funcionar and funcionaron

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

9 ch
funcionar
11 ch
funcionaron

Look-alike desk: funcionar vs funcionaron

A purely visual mix-up. funcionar ([fũnsjoˈnaɾ]) and funcionaron ([fũnsjoˈnaɾõn]) 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 “funcionaron”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33502, 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]. funcionaron is at rank #30,090, tagged as averb, pronounced [fũnsjoˈnaɾõn].

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 33502, this pair ranks #196,471 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of funcionar vs funcionaron

Shared letters: acfinoru. Private to "funcionar": -. Private to "funcionaron": -.

"funcionar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "funcionaron" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • funcionarffuncionar · fnucionar · fucnionar · funccionar · funcinoar · funcioanr · funcionarr · funcionnar
  • funcionaronffuncionaron · fnucionaron · fucnionaron · funccionaron · funcinoaron · funcioanron · funcionaorn · funcionarno

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "funcionar" and "funcionaron" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fũnsjoˈnaɾ] versus [fũnsjoˈnaɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "funcionar" or "funcionaron"?
"funcionar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,412 in our Spanish list, against #30,090 for "funcionaron". 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 "funcionar" and "funcionaron" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "funcionar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "funcionaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #196,471 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "funcionar" and "funcionaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "funcionarán vs funcionaron". 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 #196,471 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