Which to use
“fonctionne” is a verb and “fonctions” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,225
- “fonctionne” frequency rank
- #1,566
- “fonctions” frequency rank
- 3791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fonctionne | fonctions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe fonctionner. | Pluriel de fonction. |
Where the eye mixes fonctionne and fonctions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. fonctionne runs 10 letters (CVCCCVVCCV) against fonctions's 9 (CVCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fonctionne with fonctions
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fonctionne is \fɔ̃k.sjɔn\ while fonctions is \fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3791, 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\. fonctions is at rank #1,566, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃k.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 3791, this pair ranks #433,182 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fonctionne vs fonctions
Shared letters: cfinot. Private to "fonctionne": e. Private to "fonctions": s.
"fonctionne" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCV · "fonctions" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fonctionne ← ffonctionne · fnoctionne · focntionne · foncctionne · foncitonne · fonctinone · fonctione · fonctionen
- fonctions ← ffonctions · fnoctions · focntions · foncctions · foncitons · fonctinos · fonctionns · fonctionss
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fonctionne" and "fonctions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fonctionne" vs "fonctions" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fonctionne" and "fonctions" 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 "fonctions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #433,182 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fonctionne" and "fonctions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fonctions 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 #433,182 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.