Which to use
“reír” and “reírse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,778
- “reír” frequency rank
- #14,951
- “reírse” frequency rank
- 20729
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reír | reírse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Reírse (emitir sonidos de alegría con la boca). | Mostrar alegría con movimientos de la boca y de la cara emitiendo sonidos no articulados. |
Where the eye mixes reír and reírse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. reír runs 4 letters (CVVC) against reírse's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between reír and reírse
A purely visual mix-up. reír ([reˈiɾ]) and reírse ([reˈiɾse]) 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 extra letter(s) - “reír” sits inside “reírse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20729, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reír is recorded at frequency rank #5,778, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈiɾ]. reírse is at rank #14,951, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈiɾse].
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 20729, this pair ranks #258,051 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reír vs reírse
Shared letters: erí. Private to "reír": -. Private to "reírse": s.
"reír" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "reírse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reír" and "reírse" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "reír" or "reírse" 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 "reír" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reírse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #258,051 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reír" and "reírse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Reese vs reírse". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #258,051 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.