referência
/Rɨ.fɨ.ˈɾẽ.sjɐ/
The verdict
“referência” is a regularly-used Portuguese word, ranked #1,448 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,448
- frequency rank, Portuguese
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - ato ou efeito de referir
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | referência |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /Rɨ.fɨ.ˈɾẽ.sjɐ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #1,448 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “referência” sits in Portuguese frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Portuguese entry for referência is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /Rɨ.fɨ.ˈɾẽ.sjɐ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,448 in overall Portuguese word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for referência, with forms such as "erferência", "reefrência", and "refernêcia". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "reverência", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Portuguese form is referência, spelled R-E-F-E-R-Ê-N-C-I-A.
Definition
- 1ato ou efeito de referir
- 2relação de umas coisas com as outras
- 3alusão
- 4obra de referência, obra não para ler, mas para consultar
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: erferência,reefrência,refernêcia,referrência,referêcnia,referêncai,referênccia,referênica,referênncia,refeêrncia,refferência,refreência,rfeerência,rreferência
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of referência - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "referência"?
What does "referência" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "referência"?
How do you pronounce "referência"?
What language does "referência" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “referência”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Portuguese spelling is R-E-F-E-R-Ê-N-C-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /Rɨ.fɨ.ˈɾẽ.sjɐ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “reverência” - see the side-by-side comparison. referência vs reverência
- Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.