Which to use
“fonction” and “fondation” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #724
- “fonction” frequency rank
- #2,576
- “fondation” frequency rank
- 3300
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fonction | fondation |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Activité qui tend à un but déterminé. | Action de fonder, de bâtir la base de quelque chose ; commencement de quelque chose de durable. |
Where the eye mixes fonction and fondation
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. fonction runs 8 letters (CVCCCVVC) against fondation's 9 (CVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fonction vs fondation
A purely visual mix-up. fonction (\fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\) and fondation (\fɔ̃.da.sjɔ̃\) 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 3300, 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\. fondation is at rank #2,576, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃.da.sjɔ̃\.
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 3300, this pair ranks #434,367 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fonction vs fondation
Shared letters: finot. Private to "fonction": c. Private to "fondation": ad.
"fonction" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "fondation" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fonction" and "fondation" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fonction" vs "fondation" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fonction" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fondation" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #434,367 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fonction" and "fondation" 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 #434,367 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.