razónvsriñónWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“razón” and “riñón” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#356
“razón” frequency rank
#15,475
“riñón” frequency rank
15831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature razón riñón
Definition La facultad de la mente humana mediante la cual se distingue de la inteligencia de otros animales. La razón abarca a la concepción, juicio, razonamiento y la facultad intuitiva. Específicamente, es la facultad intuitiva, o la facultad de verdades primeras, en distinción al entendimiento, la que se llama facultad discursiva o raciocinativa. Órgano del sistema excretor entre los vertebrados, que filtra las toxinas de la sangre y las desecha mediante la orina. Se ubican en la mitad posterior del cuerpo, a ambos lados de la espina dorsal.

Where the eye mixes razón and riñón

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
razón
5 ch
riñón

Look-alike desk: razón vs riñón

A purely visual mix-up. razón ([raˈsõn]) and riñón ([riˈɲõn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

razón is recorded at frequency rank #356, classified as anoun, pronounced [raˈsõn]. riñón is at rank #15,475, tagged as anoun, pronounced [riˈɲõn].

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 15831, this pair ranks #278,606 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of razón vs riñón

Shared letters: nró. Private to "razón": az. Private to "riñón": .

"razón" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "riñón" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "razón" and "riñón" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([raˈsõn] versus [riˈɲõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "razón" or "riñón"?
"razón" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #356 in our Spanish list, against #15,475 for "riñón". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "razón" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "riñón" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #278,606 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "razón" and "riñón" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "renos vs riñón". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #278,606 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list