funcionarvsfuncionenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,412
“funcionar” frequency rank
#20,049
“funcionen” frequency rank
23461
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature funcionar funcionen
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 presente de subjuntivo de funcionar.

Where the eye mixes funcionar and funcionen

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

9 ch
funcionar
9 ch
funcionen

Visual trap between funcionar and funcionen

A purely visual mix-up. funcionar ([fũnsjoˈnaɾ]) and funcionen ([fũnˈsjonẽn]) 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 23461, 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]. funcionen is at rank #20,049, tagged as averb, pronounced [fũnˈsjonẽn].

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 23461, this pair ranks #245,704 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of funcionar vs funcionen

Shared letters: cfinou. Private to "funcionar": ar. Private to "funcionen": e.

"funcionar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "funcionen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • funcionarffuncionar · fnucionar · fucnionar · funccionar · funcinoar · funcioanr · funcionarr · funcionnar
  • funcionenffuncionen · fnucionen · fucnionen · funccionen · funcinoen · funcioenn · funcionenn · funcionnen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "funcionar" and "funcionen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fũnsjoˈnaɾ] versus [fũnˈsjonẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "funcionar" or "funcionen" show up more?
"funcionar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,412 in our Spanish list, against #20,049 for "funcionen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "funcionar" and "funcionen" 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 "funcionen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #245,704 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "funcionar" and "funcionen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "funcionar 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 #245,704 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