Which to use
“fonction” is a noun and “fonctionne” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #724
- “fonction” frequency rank
- #2,225
- “fonctionne” frequency rank
- 2949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fonction | fonctionne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Activité qui tend à un but déterminé. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe fonctionner. |
Where the eye mixes fonction and fonctionne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. fonction runs 8 letters (CVCCCVVC) against fonctionne's 10 (CVCCCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fonction and fonctionne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fonction is \fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\ while fonctionne is \fɔ̃k.sjɔn\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fonction” sits inside “fonctionne”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fonction is recorded at frequency rank #724, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\. fonctionne is at rank #2,225, tagged as averb, pronounced \fɔ̃k.sjɔn\.
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 2949, this pair ranks #435,131 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fonction vs fonctionne
Shared letters: cfinot. Private to "fonction": -. Private to "fonctionne": e.
"fonction" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "fonctionne" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fonction ← ffonction · fnoction · focntion · foncction · fonciton · fonctino · fonctionn · fonctoin
- fonctionne ← ffonctionne · fnoctionne · focntionne · foncctionne · foncitonne · fonctinone · fonctione · fonctionen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fonction" for "fonctionne" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fonction" vs "fonctionne" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fonction" and "fonctionne" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fonction" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fonctionne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #435,131 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fonction" and "fonctionne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fonction vs function". 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 #435,131 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.