reyvsrunTell them apart

Quick tell: rey is a noun, run is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#8,105
“rey” frequency rank
#8,681
“run” frequency rank
16786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rey run
Definition rei, monarca: correr

Where the eye mixes rey and run

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

3 ch
rey
3 ch
run

Look-alike desk: rey vs run

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rey is /ˈrej/ while run is /ˈɹʌn/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16786, 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/. run is at rank #8,681, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɹʌn/.

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 16786, this pair ranks #54,662 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rey vs run

Shared letters: r. Private to "rey": ey. Private to "run": nu.

"rey" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "run" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "rey" and "run" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rey" is a noun and "run" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "rey" or "run" show up more?
"rey" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,105 in our Portuguese list, against #8,681 for "run". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "rey" and "run" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rey" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "run" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #54,662 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rey" and "run" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "run vs rust". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #54,662 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