fonctions vs function, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“fonctions” and “function” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,566
“fonctions” frequency rank: #44,471
“function” frequency rank: 46037
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	fonctions	function
Definition	Pluriel de fonction.	Fonction.

Where the eye mixes fonctions and function

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch

fonctions

8 ch

function

Why the eye confuses fonctions with function

A purely visual mix-up. fonctions (\fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\) and function (\ˈfəŋ(k).ʃən\) 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 46037, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fonctions is recorded at frequency rank #1,566, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\. function is at rank #44,471, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈfəŋ(k).ʃən\.

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 46037, this pair ranks #198,117 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fonctions vs function

Shared letters: cfinot. Private to "fonctions": s. Private to "function": u.

"fonctions" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC · "function" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

fonctions ← ffonctions · fnoctions · focntions · foncctions · foncitons · fonctinos · fonctionns · fonctionss
function ← ffunction · fnuction · fucntion · funcction · funciton · functino · functionn · functoin

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fonctions" and "function" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\fɔ̃k.sjɔ̃\ versus \ˈfəŋ(k).ʃən\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "fonctions" or "function"?

"fonctions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,566 in our French list, against #44,471 for "function". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "fonctions" and "function" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

Full dictionary entry for "fonctions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "function" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #198,117 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"fonctions" and "function" 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 #198,117 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.