Which to use
“fonctionne” and “fonctionner” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,225
- “fonctionne” frequency rank
- #4,860
- “fonctionner” frequency rank
- 7085
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fonctionne | fonctionner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe fonctionner. | Accomplir sa fonction, en parlant d’un mécanisme, d’un organe, etc. |
Where the eye mixes fonctionne and fonctionner
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. fonctionne runs 10 letters (CVCCCVVCCV) against fonctionner's 11 (CVCCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fonctionne vs fonctionner
A purely visual mix-up. fonctionne (\fɔ̃k.sjɔn\) and fonctionner (\fɔ̃k.sjɔ.ne\) 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 extra letter(s) - “fonctionne” sits inside “fonctionner”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fonctionne is recorded at frequency rank #2,225, classified as averb, pronounced \fɔ̃k.sjɔn\. fonctionner is at rank #4,860, tagged as averb, pronounced \fɔ̃k.sjɔ.ne\.
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 7085, this pair ranks #424,289 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fonctionne vs fonctionner
Shared letters: cefinot. Private to "fonctionne": -. Private to "fonctionner": r.
"fonctionne" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCV · "fonctionner" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fonctionne ← ffonctionne · fnoctionne · focntionne · foncctionne · foncitonne · fonctinone · fonctione · fonctionen
- fonctionner ← ffonctionner · fnoctionner · focntionner · foncctionner · foncitonner · fonctinoner · fonctionenr · fonctioner
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fonctionne" and "fonctionner" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fonctionne" vs "fonctionner" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fonctionne" and "fonctionner" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fonctionne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fonctionner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #424,289 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fonctionne" and "fonctionner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fonctionner vs fonctionnera". 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 #424,289 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.