régiavsréguaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: régia is a adjective, régua is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“régia” is an adjective and “régua” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,815
“régia” frequency rank
#18,702
“régua” frequency rank
44517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature régia régua
Definition feminino de régio instrumento de madeira, plástico ou qualquer outro material sólido com as faces planas e as arestas apropriadas para servirem de guia para se traçar linhas retas

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set régia and régua apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
régia
5 ch
régua

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: régia is anadjective and réguaanoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - i in “régia” becomes u in “régua”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

régia is recorded at frequency rank #25,815, classified as anadj. régua is at rank #18,702, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈχɛ.gwə/.

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 44517, this pair ranks #20,951 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of régia vs régua

Shared letters: agré. Private to "régia": i. Private to "régua": u.

"régia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "régua" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

régia#25,815
régua#18,702

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "régia" and "régua" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "régia" is an adjective and "régua" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "régia" or "régua"?
"régua" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,702 in our Portuguese list, against #25,815 for "régia". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering régia vs régua

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “régia”; for a noun, it's “régua”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “régia” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list