Which to use
“reação” and “refrão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,864
- “reação” frequency rank
- #13,377
- “refrão” frequency rank
- 15241
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reação | refrão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ação provocada em razão de uma outra anteriormente ocorrida | fala ou dito popular que exprime uma ideia, uma lição, etc. |
Where the eye mixes reação and refrão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. reação (CVVCVV) and refrão (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses reação with refrão
A purely visual mix-up. reação (/ʀja.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and refrão (/ʁeˈfɾɐ̃w̃/ [heˈfɾɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) 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 15241, 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/. refrão is at rank #13,377, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʁeˈfɾɐ̃w̃/ [heˈfɾɐ̃ʊ̯̃].
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 15241, this pair ranks #56,632 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reação vs refrão
Shared letters: eorã. Private to "reação": aç. Private to "refrão": f.
"reação" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV · "refrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reação" for "refrão" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "reação" or "refrão" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reação" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refrão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,632 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reação" and "refrão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refração vs refrão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #56,632 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.