reíanvsrestanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,823
“reían” frequency rank
#27,764
“restan” frequency rank
57587
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reían restan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de reír o de reírse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de restar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reían and restan apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
reían
6 ch
restan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reían ([reˈiãn]) and restan ([ˈrest̪ãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reían is recorded at frequency rank #29,823, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈiãn]. restan is at rank #27,764, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈrest̪ãn].

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 57587, this pair ranks #69,898 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of reían vs restan

Shared letters: aenr. Private to "reían": í. Private to "restan": st.

"reían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "restan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • restanerstan · resatn · resstan · restann · restna · resttan · retsan · rrestan

Frequency comparison

reían#29,823
restan#27,764

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reían" and "restan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈiãn] versus [ˈrest̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reían" or "restan"?
"restan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,764 in our Spanish list, against #29,823 for "reían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reían vs restan

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 “reían” 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