Which to use
“regar” and “reinar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,639
- “regar” frequency rank
- #23,110
- “reinar” frequency rank
- 50749
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regar | reinar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | molhar as plantas, terra, etc | governar um país como rei |
Where the eye mixes regar and reinar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. regar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against reinar's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses regar with reinar
A purely visual mix-up. regar (/Rɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and reinar (/Rɐj.ˈnaɾ/) 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 50749, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
regar is recorded at frequency rank #27,639, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈɡaɾ/. reinar is at rank #23,110, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɐj.ˈnaɾ/.
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 50749, this pair ranks #14,213 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of regar vs reinar
Shared letters: aer. Private to "regar": g. Private to "reinar": in.
"regar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "reinar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "regar" for "reinar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "regar" or "reinar" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "regar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reinar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,213 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regar" and "reinar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regar vs renegar". 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 #14,213 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.