Fun or Funny? The Difference.*

[Zak]

You’ll find that many people get confused with the usage of these words. Of course, they are very similar.


Fun

If something is fun, it means that it’s entertaining. This is not used with comedy or to describe something humorous.


Examples

It was so fun at the bar last night!

He is a fun person.

I love playing football, it’s fun!



Funny

Now, this is where you can describe your subject with a chuckle. If something is funny, it means that it makes you laugh. You would describe a thing or a person as funny if they are good at telling jokes or if they have a good sense of humour.


Examples

That is such a funny film!

James is funny, he makes me laugh.

I really don’t think that’s funny, it’s actually offensive.


From a native speaker’s point of view, these are not interchangeable and you must make sure you don’t mix them up! You will be at risk of giving off the wrong message if you confuse them.

[Lingostan]

Thank you Zak! I'm not ashamed to say that it happened to me some time ago, when someone told me that Chinese was a fun language to learn, it was at that moment that I fully realized the difference between these two words.

[Laury Burr]

Sorry Zak I must correct you on one point. Not "it was so fun" but "it was such fun". A mistake made by some English speakers, but still not right!