Which to use
“reacción” is a noun and “reaccionar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,267
- “reacción” frequency rank
- #8,703
- “reaccionar” frequency rank
- 10970
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reacción | reaccionar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hecho o acción que se opone o resiste a otra, obrando en sentido contrario a ella. | Actuar en respuesta a un estímulo. |
Where the eye mixes reacción and reaccionar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. reacción runs 8 letters (CVVCCVVC) against reaccionar's 10 (CVVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses reacción with reaccionar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reacción is [reakˈsjõn] while reaccionar is [reaksjoˈnaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10970, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reacción is recorded at frequency rank #2,267, classified as anoun, pronounced [reakˈsjõn]. reaccionar is at rank #8,703, tagged as averb, pronounced [reaksjoˈnaɾ].
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 10970, this pair ranks #296,717 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reacción vs reaccionar
Shared letters: aceinr. Private to "reacción": ó. Private to "reaccionar": o.
"reacción" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC · "reaccionar" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reaccionar ← eraccionar · raeccionar · reaccinoar · reaccioanr · reaccionarr · reaccionnar · reaccionra · reaccoinar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reacción" for "reaccionar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "reacción" vs "reaccionar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reacción" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reaccionar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,717 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reacción" and "reaccionar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reacción vs refracción". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #296,717 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.