reyvsruaConfusable pair

Quick tell: rey is a noun, rua is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#8,105
“rey” frequency rank
#420
“rua” frequency rank
8525
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rey rua
Definition rei, monarca: fora!, gire! - ordem enérgica para deixar o recinto onde se está

Where the eye mixes rey and rua

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
rey
3 ch
rua

Visual trap between rey and rua

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rey is /ˈrej/ while rua is /ˈRuɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8525, 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/. 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 8525, this pair ranks #65,214 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rey vs rua

Shared letters: r. Private to "rey": ey. Private to "rua": au.

"rey" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "rua" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rey" for "rua" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rey" is a noun and "rua" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "rey" vs "rua" - which ranks higher?
"rua" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #420 in our Portuguese list, against #8,105 for "rey". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rey" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #65,214 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rey" and "rua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "revi vs rey". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #65,214 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list