receção vs retenção, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#37,068
“receção” frequency rank: #15,669
“retenção” frequency rank: 52737
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	receção	retenção
Definition	vide recepção	ato de reter, guardar em seu poder algo que é de outra pessoa

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set receção and retenção apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

receção

8 ch

retenção

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. receção (/ʀəsɛˈsɐ̃w̃/) and retenção (/Rɨ.tẽ.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 52737, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

receção is recorded at frequency rank #37,068, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʀəsɛˈsɐ̃w̃/. retenção is at rank #15,669, tagged as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.tẽ.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 52737, this pair ranks #12,537 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of receção vs retenção

Shared letters: eorãç. Private to "receção": c. Private to "retenção": nt.

"receção" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "retenção" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

receção#37,068

retenção#15,669

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "receção" and "retenção" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "receção" or "retenção"?

"retenção" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,669 in our Portuguese list, against #37,068 for "receção". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering receção vs retenção

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 “receção” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable