Which to use
“refém” is a noun and “rever” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,531
- “refém” frequency rank
- #6,115
- “rever” frequency rank
- 17646
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refém | rever |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pessoa ou povoação que fica em poder do inimigo como penhor de um contrato | tornar a ver |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set refém and rever apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: refém is /ʀɨ.ˈfɐ̃j̃/ while rever is /Rɨ.ˈveɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17646, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refém is recorded at frequency rank #11,531, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʀɨ.ˈfɐ̃j̃/. rever is at rank #6,115, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈveɾ/.
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 17646, this pair ranks #53,546 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refém vs rever
Shared letters: er. Private to "refém": fmé. Private to "rever": v.
"refém" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rever" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rever ← erver · reevr · reverr · revre · revver · rrever · rveer
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refém" and "rever" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "refém" or "rever"?
Remembering refém vs rever
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “refém”; for a verb, it's “rever”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “refém” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable