Which to use
“refrão” and “regra” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,377
- “refrão” frequency rank
- #2,594
- “regra” frequency rank
- 15971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refrão | regra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fala ou dito popular que exprime uma ideia, uma lição, etc. | preceito, norma ou lei |
Where the eye mixes refrão and regra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. refrão runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against regra's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses refrão with regra
A purely visual mix-up. refrão (/ʁeˈfɾɐ̃w̃/ [heˈfɾɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) and regra (/ˈRɛ.ɡɾɐ/) 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 15971, 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]. regra is at rank #2,594, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈRɛ.ɡɾɐ/.
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 15971, this pair ranks #55,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refrão vs regra
Shared letters: er. Private to "refrão": foã. Private to "regra": ag.
"refrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "regra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- regra ← ergra · reggra · regrra · rerga · rgera · rregra
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refrão" and "regra" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "refrão" or "regra"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "refrão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "regra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refrão" and "regra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refração vs refrão". 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 #55,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.