reinsvsremainsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“reins” and “remains” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,436
“reins” frequency rank
#1,672
“remains” frequency rank
21108
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reins remains
Definition plural of rein The body or any of its matter that are left after a person (or any organism) dies; a corpse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reins and remains apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
reins
7 ch
remains

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reins (/ɹeɪnz/) and remains (/ɹɪˈmeɪnz/) 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 21108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reins is recorded at frequency rank #19,436, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪnz/. remains is at rank #1,672, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈmeɪnz/.

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 21108, this pair ranks #426,324 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reins vs remains

Shared letters: einrs. Private to "reins": -. Private to "remains": am.

"reins" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "remains" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reinserins · reinns · reinss · renis · riens · rreins
  • remainsermains · reamins · remainns · remainss · remaisn · remanis · remians · remmains

Frequency comparison

reins#19,436
remains#1,672

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reins" and "remains" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹeɪnz/ versus /ɹɪˈmeɪnz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reins" or "remains"?
"remains" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,672 in our English list, against #19,436 for "reins". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering reins vs remains

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reins” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list