régua vs rua, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#18,702
“régua” frequency rank: #420
“rua” frequency rank: 19122
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	régua	rua
Definition	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	fora!, gire! - ordem enérgica para deixar o recinto onde se está

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set régua and rua apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

régua

3 ch

rua

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: régua is /ˈχɛ.gwə/ while rua is /ˈRuɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

régua is recorded at frequency rank #18,702, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈχɛ.gwə/. rua is at rank #420, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ˈRuɐ/.

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 19122, this pair ranks #51,701 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of régua vs rua

Shared letters: aru. Private to "régua": gé. Private to "rua": -.

"régua" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "rua" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

régua#18,702

rua#420

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "régua" and "rua" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "régua" is a noun and "rua" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "régua" or "rua"?

"rua" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #420 in our Portuguese list, against #18,702 for "régua". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering régua vs rua

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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