recevsreedWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#38,335
“rece” frequency rank
#16,196
“reed” frequency rank
54531
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rece reed
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de rezar. Junco, caña.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rece and reed apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
rece
4 ch
reed

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rece is [ˈrese] while reed is /ɹid/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rece is recorded at frequency rank #38,335, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈrese]. reed is at rank #16,196, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹid/.

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 54531, this pair ranks #82,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rece vs reed

Shared letters: er. Private to "rece": c. Private to "reed": d.

"rece" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "reed" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • receerce · recce · reec · rese · rrece
  • reedered · rede · reedd · rreed

Frequency comparison

rece#38,335
reed#16,196

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rece" and "reed" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rece" is a verb and "reed" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rece" or "reed"?
"reed" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,196 in our Spanish list, against #38,335 for "rece". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rece vs reed

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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