reacciónvsreaccionóWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: reacción is a noun, reaccionó is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“reacción” is a noun and “reaccionó” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,267
“reacción” frequency rank
#18,063
“reaccionó” frequency rank
20330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reacción reaccionó
Definition Hecho o acción que se opone o resiste a otra, obrando en sentido contrario a ella. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de reaccionar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reacción and reaccionó apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
reacción
9 ch
reaccionó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reacción is [reakˈsjõn] while reaccionó is [reaksjoˈno]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 20330, 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]. reaccionó is at rank #18,063, tagged as averb, pronounced [reaksjoˈno].

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 20330, this pair ranks #259,794 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reacción vs reaccionó

Shared letters: aceinró. Private to "reacción": -. Private to "reaccionó": o.

"reacción" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC  ·  "reaccionó" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVVCV

Frequency comparison

reacción#2,267
reaccionó#18,063

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reacción" and "reaccionó" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "reacción" is a noun and "reaccionó" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "reacción" or "reaccionó"?
"reacción" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,267 in our Spanish list, against #18,063 for "reaccionó". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reacción vs reaccionó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “reacción”; for a verb, it's “reaccionó”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reacción” 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