reaçãovsreachWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“reação” and “reach” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,864
“reação” frequency rank
#28,744
“reach” frequency rank
30608
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reação reach
Definition ação provocada em razão de uma outra anteriormente ocorrida alcance

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
reação
5 ch
reach

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reação (/ʀja.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and reach (/ɹiːt͡ʃ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reação is recorded at frequency rank #1,864, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʀja.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. reach is at rank #28,744, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹiːt͡ʃ/.

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 30608, this pair ranks #37,695 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reação vs reach

Shared letters: aer. Private to "reação": oãç. Private to "reach": ch.

"reação" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV  ·  "reach" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reacherach · raech · reacch · reachh · reahc · recah · rreach

Frequency comparison

reação#1,864
reach#28,744

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reação" and "reach" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ʀja.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /ɹiːt͡ʃ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reação" or "reach"?
"reação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,864 in our Portuguese list, against #28,744 for "reach". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering reação vs reach

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reação” 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