funçãovsfungoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: função is a noun, fungo is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“função” is a noun and “fungo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,146
“função” frequency rank
#16,519
“fungo” frequency rank
17665
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature função fungo
Definition ação própria de uma máquina ou organismo primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo fungar

Where the eye mixes função and fungo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. função runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against fungo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
função
5 ch
fungo

Visual trap between função and fungo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: função is /fũ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while fungo is /ˈfũ.ɡu/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17665, 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/. fungo is at rank #16,519, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfũ.ɡu/.

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 17665, this pair ranks #53,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of função vs fungo

Shared letters: fnou. Private to "função": ãç. Private to "fungo": g.

"função" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "fungo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fungo ← ffungo · fnugo · fugno · funggo · funngo · funog · ufngo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "função" and "fungo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "função" is a noun and "fungo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "função" vs "fungo" - which ranks higher?
"função" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,146 in our Portuguese list, against #16,519 for "fungo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "função" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fungo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #53,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "função" and "fungo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "findo vs fungo". 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 #53,519 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