reação vs redução, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,864
“reação” frequency rank: #2,394
“redução” frequency rank: 4258
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	reação	redução
Definition	ação provocada em razão de uma outra anteriormente ocorrida	ato ou efeito de reduzir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reação and redução apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

reação

7 ch

redução

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reação (/ʀja.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and redução (/Rɨ.du.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 4258, 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/. redução is at rank #2,394, tagged as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.du.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 4258, this pair ranks #70,708 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reação vs redução

Shared letters: eorãç. Private to "reação": a. Private to "redução": du.

"reação" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV · "redução" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

reação#1,864

redução#2,394

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reação" and "redução" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ʀja.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /Rɨ.du.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "reação" or "redução"?

"reação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,864 in our Portuguese list, against #2,394 for "redução". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reação vs redução

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
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