Which to use
“recen” and “reían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,336
- “recen” frequency rank
- #29,823
- “reían” frequency rank
- 68159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recen | reían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de rezar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de reír o de reírse. |
Where the eye mixes recen and reían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. recen (CVCVC) and reían (CVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: recen vs reían
A purely visual mix-up. recen ([ˈresẽn]) and reían ([reˈiãn]) 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 68159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recen is recorded at frequency rank #38,336, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈresẽn]. reían is at rank #29,823, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈiãn].
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 68159, this pair ranks #35,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of recen vs reían
Shared letters: enr. Private to "recen": c. Private to "reían": aí.
"recen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "reían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- recen ← ercen · reccen · recenn · recne · reecn · resen · rrecen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "recen" and "reían" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "recen" or "reían" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "recen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recen" and "reían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recen vs reset". 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 #35,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.