Which to use
“rey” and “rum” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,105
- “rey” frequency rank
- #15,451
- “rum” frequency rank
- 23556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rey | rum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | rei, monarca: | aguardente obtida da destilação do melaço fermentado |
Where the eye mixes rey and rum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between rey and rum
A purely visual mix-up. rey (/ˈrej/) and rum (/ˈRũ/) 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 23556, 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/. rum is at rank #15,451, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈRũ/.
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 23556, this pair ranks #46,256 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rey vs rum
Shared letters: r. Private to "rey": ey. Private to "rum": mu.
"rey" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "rum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rey" and "rum" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "rey" or "rum" show up more?
What to do next
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 "rum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,256 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rey" and "rum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rum vs rust". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #46,256 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.