Confusing Words in English: Fun vs Funny

Hi I'm Anne Marie with Speak Confident English and welcome to your Confident

English Wednesday lesson. So last night my friends and I had a really fun time.

No, wait. Funny. We had a funny time. No fun time. If

you're not sure about which of those words is correct - fun or funny - then

today's lesson is perfect for you. Those two words look very similar and many

people think that they mean the same thing. But you might be making a common

mistake with these two words and today we're going to talk about what they mean

and how to use them so that you can use them in your English conversations

correctly. Of course, these two words look similar and they're both used as

adjectives. Now a side note: adjectives are those words that describe nouns, for

example: a black dress or a cool breeze a great vacation.

Black, cool, great... those are all adjectives describing a noun. Fun and

funny can be used in the same way. But they have different meanings and that is

what we're going to focus on today so that when you're talking about something

that was fun or funny you make the right choice between those words. So let's

start with the definitions of each and we'll look at fun. Fun is another way to

say something is enjoyable or pleasurable. It makes you feel happy. For

example, last night we had a fun dinner party with our friends. Or last weekend

was really fun. We had a fun picnic in the park. In all of those examples, what

you are expressing is that you had a good time, an enjoyable time. It made you

feel happy. Now with funny, when we use that word it means that

something made us laugh, we laughed at something. For example, my friend told a

funny joke. That means the joke made you laugh. Or maybe last weekend you saw a

funny movie. Maybe you watched a comedy and again it made you laugh. Now like all

good things in English grammar and vocabulary, there is another side. The

word funny can be a little bit tricky. If you've been following me with Speak

Confident English for a long time you know that I often talk about the

importance of context. Context is not just the word and the meaning but the

whole sentence or the whole paragraph because sometimes that helps you

understand the meaning. Some words, like funny, can have more than one meaning. And

in some situations funny actually means something is strange or weird; something

that is difficult to explain or understand. For example if I meet

someone for the first time and then later I say, "You know, I had a funny

feeling about him." That is not a positive statement and it doesn't mean he made me

laugh. It means there was something not right. I didn't like him, I didn't trust

him. There was something strange or weird. I had a funny feeling about him. Or

another common example, "That's funny! I know I left my keys on the desk. Where

have they gone?" In that example I'm not saying that

losing my keys is making me laugh, I'm saying hmm that's funny that's that's

strange I can't explain it. I know I left my keys on the desk but now they're not

there. It's unexplainable or it's strange. So we can talk about

something that is pleasurable, enjoyable, it makes you happy, it's fun. Or we can

talk about something that makes you laugh or is strange,

weird, unexplainable and it's funny. Okay now you know the difference

between fun and funny so let's try a couple of example sentences and I want

you to decide what word is correct for the sentence. Number one: do you remember

our trip to the lake last summer? That was such a ___ weekend. That was such a

___ weekend. Hopefully you said fun. We're talking about an enjoyable, pleasurable

time. Number two: I love Silicon Valley! That is such a ___ TV show.

I love Silicon Valley! That is such a ___ TV show. Hint: it is a TV show that makes me

laugh so it's funny. It's a funny TV show. Number three: my friend James is so ___. He

always makes me laugh. Now that one should be very simple. James is so ___. He

always makes me laugh. We're talking about something or someone who makes me

laugh so James is funny. And finally, number four: hey! Can you come to our

barbecue this weekend? I promise it will be ___. Can you come to our barbecue this

weekend? I promise it will be ___. We're describing a barbecue that will be

enjoyable, pleasurable. It will be fun. Now as always I have more opportunities for

you to practice with some challenge questions in the online lesson so after

you finish watching this video be sure to check that out and share your

comments in the comment section just below this video. And that's it! This

week's lesson is very simple but it is important because I hear mistakes with

fun and funny all the time. And now you can avoid making those mistakes

because you understand the difference between the two words and how to use

them correctly. Now visit the online lesson,

check out those challenge questions, share your answers with me, get some

practice using these two words so that it becomes easy and natural for you to

use them with confidence in your next conversation in English. Thank you so

much for joining me. I love having you here every Wednesday and I'll see you

next week for your Confident English Wednesday lesson.