REMvsrolTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,225
“REM” frequency rank
#2,746
“rol” frequency rank
37971
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature REM rol
Definition Fase del sueño durante la que suceden los ensueños más intensos. Durante esta fase, los ojos se mueven rápidamente y la actividad de las neuronas del cerebro se asemeja a la de cuando se está despierto. Lista o catálogo.

Where the eye mixes REM and rol

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
REM
3 ch
rol

Look-alike desk: REM vs rol

A purely visual mix-up. REM ([ˈrẽm]) and rol ([ˈrol]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

REM is recorded at frequency rank #35,225, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈrẽm]. rol is at rank #2,746, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈrol].

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 37971, this pair ranks #172,495 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of REM vs rol

Shared letters: r. Private to "REM": em. Private to "rol": lo.

"REM" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "rol" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "REM" and "rol" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈrẽm] versus [ˈrol]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "REM" or "rol" show up more?
"rol" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,746 in our Spanish list, against #35,225 for "REM". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "REM" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rol" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #172,495 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "REM" and "rol" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "REM vs rema". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #172,495 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