Main Difference – Fun vs. Funny
The two words fun and funny are often used interchangeably by many people since they sound and look similar. However, there is a distinct difference between fun and funny. The main difference between these two words is that fun is an uncountable noun meaning pleasure or enjoyment whereas funny is an adjective meaning humorous or amusing.
Fun – Meaning and Usage
Fun is an uncountable noun that refers to enjoyment or amusement. Look at the examples below to see how ‘fun’ gives out these meaning.
The kids were having fun at the party.
I hope you have fun.
She is full of fun and laughter.
To them, dancing was a just a source of fun.
In informal usage, the word, fun is also used as an adjective to mean enjoyable or pleasurable. The two sentences given below are examples of this usage.
I had a fun evening, thank you.
They are such fun people.
In the second example, fun people can be interpreted as those who like to have fun. However, keep in mind that you can never use funny as the adjective of fun.
They had so much fun at the amusement park.
Funny – Meaning and Usage
Funny is an adjective. It is mainly used to give the meaning humorous and amusing. The following sentences express this meaning.
He told me a funny story.
She made funny faces at the mirror.
His jokes were so funny that we all started laughing.
It was such a funny play.
Funny is also used to describe things that are difficult to explain. Here, it is synonymous with strange or curious.
It’s such a funny coincidence.
Wasn’t it funny that he told no one that he was leaving?
I had a funny feeling that he shouldn’t be trusted.
There was something funny going on there.
It is also used in an informal manner to indicate that person is not in good health. For example, “my eyes go all funny after a bit.”
He is making funny faces.
Difference Between Fun and Funny
Many people confuse the two words fun and funny when it comes to the usage of adjectives. The exchange of these two words can create a vast difference in the meaning. For instance, look at the two sentences below.
He is such a fun guy; he never takes things seriously.
He is such a funny guy; he never takes things seriously.
The first sentence means that he is a person who likes to have fun, enjoy life and he doesn’t take things seriously. But the second sentence means that he is a strange person because he never takes things too seriously.
Now let us summarize the difference between fun and funny in the following manner.
Meaning
Fun means something that is enjoyable or entertaining.
Funny means someone or something that makes you laugh, or something amusing. Funny also refers to strange or unexplained things.
Grammatical Form
Fun is an uncountable noun.
Funny is an adjective
Informal Usage
Fun is also used as an adjective in the informal usage.
Funny is only used as an adjective.
