Which to use
“regra” and “régua” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,594
- “regra” frequency rank
- #18,702
- “régua” frequency rank
- 21296
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regra | régua |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | preceito, norma ou lei | 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 eye mixes regra and régua
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: regra vs régua
A purely visual mix-up. regra (/ˈRɛ.ɡɾɐ/) and régua (/ˈχɛ.gwə/) 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 21296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
regra is recorded at frequency rank #2,594, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈRɛ.ɡɾɐ/. 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 21296, this pair ranks #49,013 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of regra vs régua
Shared letters: agr. Private to "regra": e. Private to "régua": ué.
"regra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "régua" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- regra ← ergra · reggra · regrra · rerga · rgera · rregra
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "regra" and "régua" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "regra" vs "régua" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "regra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "régua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,013 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regra" and "régua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reger vs régua". 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 #49,013 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.