refierevsrefierenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“refiere” and “refieren” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,748
“refiere” frequency rank
#7,779
“refieren” frequency rank
9527
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refiere refieren
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de referir o de referirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de referir o de referirse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
refiere
8 ch
refieren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. refiere ([reˈfjeɾe]) and refieren ([reˈfjeɾẽn]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “refiere” sits inside “refieren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9527, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refiere is recorded at frequency rank #1,748, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈfjeɾe]. refieren is at rank #7,779, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈfjeɾẽn].

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 9527, this pair ranks #301,665 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of refiere vs refieren

Shared letters: efir. Private to "refiere": -. Private to "refieren": n.

"refiere" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "refieren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • refiereerfiere · refeire · reffiere · refieer · refierre · refiree · reifere · rfeiere
  • refierenerfieren · refeiren · reffieren · refieern · refierenn · refierne · refierren · refireen

Frequency comparison

refiere#1,748
refieren#7,779

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "refiere" and "refieren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈfjeɾe] versus [reˈfjeɾẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "refiere" or "refieren"?
"refiere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,748 in our Spanish list, against #7,779 for "refieren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering refiere vs refieren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “refiere” 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