Which to use
“fonction” and “friction” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #724
- “fonction” frequency rank
- #26,014
- “friction” frequency rank
- 26738
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fonction | friction |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Activité qui tend à un but déterminé. | Frottement que l’on fait sur quelque partie du corps, à sec ou autrement, avec les mains, avec une brosse, avec de la flanelle, etc., pour activer la circulation, calmer une douleur, etc. |
Where the eye mixes fonction and friction
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. fonction (CVCCCVVC) and friction (CCVCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fonction and friction
A purely visual mix-up. fonction (\fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\) and friction (\fʁik.sjɔ̃\) 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 26738, 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\. friction is at rank #26,014, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʁik.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 26738, this pair ranks #333,136 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fonction vs friction
Shared letters: cfinot. Private to "fonction": -. Private to "friction": r.
"fonction" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "friction" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fonction" for "friction" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fonction" vs "friction" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fonction" and "friction" 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 "friction" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #333,136 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fonction" and "friction" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "friction 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 #333,136 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.