funçãovsfundaçãoTell them apart

Which to use

“função” and “fundação” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,146
“função” frequency rank
#1,537
“fundação” frequency rank
2683
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature função fundação
Definition ação própria de uma máquina ou organismo ato ou efeito de fundar

Where the eye mixes função and fundação

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. função runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against fundação's 8 (CVCCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
função
8 ch
fundação

Look-alike desk: função vs fundação

A purely visual mix-up. função (/fũ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and fundação (/fũ.dɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

função is recorded at frequency rank #1,146, classified as anoun, pronounced /fũ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. fundação is at rank #1,537, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fũ.dɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 2683, this pair ranks #72,617 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of função vs fundação

Shared letters: fnouãç. Private to "função": -. Private to "fundação": ad.

"função" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "fundação" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "função" and "fundação" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/fũ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /fũ.dɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "função" or "fundação"?
"função" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,146 in our Portuguese list, against #1,537 for "fundação". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "função" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fundação" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,617 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "função" and "fundação" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feição vs função". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #72,617 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list