Which to use
“reciban” and “reían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,690
- “reciban” frequency rank
- #29,823
- “reían” frequency rank
- 42513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reciban | reían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de recibir o de recibirse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de reír o de reírse. |
Where the eye mixes reciban and reían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses reciban with reían
A purely visual mix-up. reciban ([reˈsiβ̞ãn]) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42513, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reciban is recorded at frequency rank #12,690, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈsiβ̞ãn]. 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 42513, this pair ranks #147,781 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reciban vs reían
Shared letters: aenr. Private to "reciban": bci. Private to "reían": í.
"reciban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "reían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reciban ← erciban · rceiban · recbian · recciban · reciabn · recibann · recibban · recibna
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "reciban" and "reían" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "reciban" or "reían" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "reciban" 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 #147,781 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reciban" and "reían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reían vs rias". 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 #147,781 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.