refeição vs repetição, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#6,468
“refeição” frequency rank: #12,544
“repetição” frequency rank: 19012
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	refeição	repetição
Definition	porção de alimento consumido a certas horas do dia	ação ou efeito de repetir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set refeição and repetição apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

refeição

9 ch

repetição

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. refeição (/χe.fej.ˈsãw/) and repetição (/Rɨ.pɨ.ti.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 19012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refeição is recorded at frequency rank #6,468, classified as anoun, pronounced /χe.fej.ˈsãw/. repetição is at rank #12,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.pɨ.ti.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 19012, this pair ranks #51,850 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of refeição vs repetição

Shared letters: eiorãç. Private to "refeição": f. Private to "repetição": pt.

"refeição" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVV · "repetição" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

refeição#6,468

repetição#12,544

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "refeição" and "repetição" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "refeição" or "repetição"?

"refeição" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,468 in our Portuguese list, against #12,544 for "repetição". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering refeição vs repetição

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