Which to use
“refrão” and “região” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,377
- “refrão” frequency rank
- #289
- “região” frequency rank
- 13666
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refrão | região |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fala ou dito popular que exprime uma ideia, uma lição, etc. | território, área |
Where the eye mixes refrão and região
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. refrão (CVCCVV) and região (CVCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: refrão vs região
A purely visual mix-up. refrão (/ʁeˈfɾɐ̃w̃/ [heˈfɾɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) and região (/ʁe.ʒi.ˈãw/) 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 13666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refrão is recorded at frequency rank #13,377, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʁeˈfɾɐ̃w̃/ [heˈfɾɐ̃ʊ̯̃]. região is at rank #289, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʁe.ʒi.ˈãw/.
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 13666, this pair ranks #58,611 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of refrão vs região
Shared letters: eorã. Private to "refrão": f. Private to "região": gi.
"refrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "região" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "refrão" for "região" ever safe?
Which is more common, "refrão" or "região"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "refrão" and "região" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "refrão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "região" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,611 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refrão" and "região" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refração vs refrão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #58,611 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.