Which to use
“referir” and “repelir” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,460
- “referir” frequency rank
- #30,707
- “repelir” frequency rank
- 36167
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | referir | repelir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mencionar, citar, fazer alusão | impelir para trás ou para fora |
Where the eye mixes referir and repelir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. referir and repelir follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses referir with repelir
A purely visual mix-up. referir (/Rɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/) and repelir (/Rɨ.pɨ.ˈliɾ/) 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 36167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
referir is recorded at frequency rank #5,460, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/. repelir is at rank #30,707, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.pɨ.ˈliɾ/.
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 36167, this pair ranks #30,705 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of referir vs repelir
Shared letters: eir. Private to "referir": f. Private to "repelir": lp.
"referir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "repelir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "referir" and "repelir" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "referir" vs "repelir" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "referir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repelir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,705 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "referir" and "repelir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repelir vs revelia". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #30,705 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.