reflexivo vs reflexo, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#34,011
“reflexivo” frequency rank: #6,806
“reflexo” frequency rank: 40817
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	reflexivo	reflexo
Definition	que tem a capacidade ótica de refletir a luz	refletido

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch

reflexivo

7 ch

reflexo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reflexivo (/Rɨ.flɛ.ˈksi.vu/) and reflexo (/ʁe.ˈflɛk.sʊ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reflexivo is recorded at frequency rank #34,011, classified as anadj, pronounced /Rɨ.flɛ.ˈksi.vu/. reflexo is at rank #6,806, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ʁe.ˈflɛk.sʊ/.

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 40817, this pair ranks #25,225 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reflexivo vs reflexo

Shared letters: eflorx. Private to "reflexivo": iv. Private to "reflexo": -.

"reflexivo" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "reflexo" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

reflexivo ← erflexivo · refelxivo · refflexivo · refleixvo · reflexiov · reflexivvo · reflexvio · reflexxivo
reflexo ← erflexo · refelxo · refflexo · refleox · reflexxo · refllexo · reflxeo · relfexo

Frequency comparison

reflexivo#34,011

reflexo#6,806

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reflexivo" and "reflexo" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/Rɨ.flɛ.ˈksi.vu/ versus /ʁe.ˈflɛk.sʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "reflexivo" or "reflexo"?

"reflexo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,806 in our Portuguese list, against #34,011 for "reflexivo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reflexivo vs reflexo

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