regresavsrepresaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,281
“regresa” frequency rank
#21,137
“represa” frequency rank
25418
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature regresa represa
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de regresar o de regresarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de represar.

Where the eye mixes regresa and represa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. regresa and represa follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
regresa
7 ch
represa

Look-alike desk: regresa vs represa

A purely visual mix-up. regresa ([reˈɣ̞ɾesa]) and represa ([reˈpɾesa]) 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 a single letter - g in “regresa” becomes p in “represa”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

regresa is recorded at frequency rank #4,281, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈɣ̞ɾesa]. represa is at rank #21,137, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈpɾesa].

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 25418, this pair ranks #236,535 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of regresa vs represa

Shared letters: aers. Private to "regresa": g. Private to "represa": p.

"regresa" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "represa" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • regresaergresa · regersa · reggresa · regreas · regressa · regrresa · regrsea · rergesa
  • represaerpresa · repersa · reppresa · repreas · repressa · reprresa · reprsea · rerpesa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "regresa" and "represa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([reˈɣ̞ɾesa] versus [reˈpɾesa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "regresa" or "represa" show up more?
"regresa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,281 in our Spanish list, against #21,137 for "represa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "regresa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "represa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #236,535 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "regresa" and "represa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "represa vs repulsa". 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 #236,535 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list