reforma vs retoma, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,474
“reforma” frequency rank: #17,133
“retoma” frequency rank: 18607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	reforma	retoma
Definition	estatuto de um ex-trabalhador ao atingir o limite de idade ou devido a invalidez	ato de retomar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reforma and retoma apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

reforma

6 ch

retoma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reforma (/Rɨ.ˈfɔɾ.mɐ/) and retoma (/Rɨ.ˈtɔ.mɐ/) 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 18607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reforma is recorded at frequency rank #1,474, classified as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈfɔɾ.mɐ/. retoma is at rank #17,133, tagged as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈtɔ.mɐ/.

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 18607, this pair ranks #52,342 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reforma vs retoma

Shared letters: aemor. Private to "reforma": f. Private to "retoma": t.

"reforma" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "retoma" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

reforma ← erforma · refforma · refomra · reforam · reformma · reforrma · refroma · reofrma
retoma ← ertoma · reotma · retmoa · retoam · retomma · rettoma · rretoma · rteoma

Frequency comparison

reforma#1,474

retoma#17,133

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reforma" and "retoma" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "reforma" or "retoma"?

"reforma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,474 in our Portuguese list, against #17,133 for "retoma". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering reforma vs retoma

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