remavsRetaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: rema is a noun, Reta is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“rema” is a noun and “Reta” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,570
“rema” frequency rank
#28,926
“Reta” frequency rank
74496
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rema Reta
Definition En la gramática discursiva, parte de la oración que desarrolla el asunto al que el discurso ya hacía referencia, llamado por contraposición tema. En la mayoría de los casos coincide con la información nueva aportada por la oración o cláusula, y corresponde secuencialmente a la parte que sucede al tema. Apellido.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rema and Reta apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
rema
4 ch
Reta

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rema is [ˈrema] while Reta is [ˈret̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - m in “rema” becomes t in “Reta”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rema is recorded at frequency rank #45,570, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈrema]. Reta is at rank #28,926, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈret̪a].

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 74496, this pair ranks #21,216 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rema vs Reta

Shared letters: aer. Private to "rema": m. Private to "Reta": t.

"rema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Reta" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • remaerma · ream · remma · rmea · rrema
  • Retaerta · reat · retta · rreta · rtea

Frequency comparison

rema#45,570
Reta#28,926

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rema" and "Reta" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rema" is a noun and "Reta" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rema" or "Reta"?
"Reta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,926 in our Spanish list, against #45,570 for "rema". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rema vs Reta

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “rema”; for a name, it's “Reta”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “rema” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list