rey vs ri, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“rey” is a noun and “ri” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,105
“rey” frequency rank: #7,570
“ri” frequency rank: 15675
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	rey	ri
Definition	rei, monarca:	para, contra

Letter map: rey vs ri

Shared letters muted; letters that set rey and ri apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch

rey

2 ch

Grammar separator: rey vs ri

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: rey is anoun and riapreposition. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rey is recorded at frequency rank #8,105, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈrej/. ri is at rank #7,570, tagged as aprep.

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 15675, this pair ranks #56,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rey vs ri

Shared letters: r. Private to "rey": ey. Private to "ri": i.

"rey" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "ri" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rey" and "ri" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rey" is a noun and "ri" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Frequency check: "rey" vs "ri" - which ranks higher?

"ri" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,570 in our Portuguese list, against #8,105 for "rey". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

You've compared "rey" and "ri". Here's where to go from here.

Full dictionary entry for "rey" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "ri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #56,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"rey" and "ri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rabi vs ri". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #56,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.