reírsevsreunirseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,951
“reírse” frequency rank
#7,063
“reunirse” frequency rank
22014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reírse reunirse
Definition Mostrar alegría con movimientos de la boca y de la cara emitiendo sonidos no articulados. Quedar otra vez unido lo que se había separado.

Where the eye mixes reírse and reunirse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. reírse runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against reunirse's 8 (CVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
reírse
8 ch
reunirse

Why the eye confuses reírse with reunirse

A purely visual mix-up. reírse ([reˈiɾse]) and reunirse ([rewˈniɾse]) 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 22014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reírse is recorded at frequency rank #14,951, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈiɾse]. reunirse is at rank #7,063, tagged as averb, pronounced [rewˈniɾse].

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 22014, this pair ranks #252,319 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reírse vs reunirse

Shared letters: ers. Private to "reírse": í. Private to "reunirse": inu.

"reírse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "reunirse" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reunirse ← erunirse · renuirse · reuinrse · reunirce · reunires · reunirrse · reunirsse · reunisre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reírse" and "reunirse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈiɾse] versus [rewˈniɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "reírse" or "reunirse" show up more?
"reunirse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,063 in our Spanish list, against #14,951 for "reírse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "reírse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reunirse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #252,319 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reírse" and "reunirse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Reese vs reírse". 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 #252,319 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