Which to use
“regar” and “reter” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,639
- “regar” frequency rank
- #14,701
- “reter” frequency rank
- 42340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regar | reter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | molhar as plantas, terra, etc | não largar da mão |
Where the eye mixes regar and reter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. regar and reter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses regar with reter
A purely visual mix-up. regar (/Rɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and reter (/Rɨ.ˈteɾ/) 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 42340, 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/. reter is at rank #14,701, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈteɾ/.
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 42340, this pair ranks #23,448 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of regar vs reter
Shared letters: er. Private to "regar": ag. Private to "reter": t.
"regar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "reter" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "regar" for "reter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "regar" vs "reter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "regar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,448 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regar" and "reter" 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 #23,448 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.