Which to use
“ri” is a preposition and “ruim” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,570
- “ri” frequency rank
- #1,200
- “ruim” frequency rank
- 8770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ri | ruim |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | para, contra | mau |
Letter map: ri vs ruim
Shared letters muted; letters that set ri and ruim apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: ri vs ruim
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ri is apreposition and ruimanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ri is recorded at frequency rank #7,570, classified as aprep. ruim is at rank #1,200, tagged as anadj, pronounced /Ru.ˈĩ/.
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 8770, this pair ranks #64,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ri vs ruim
Shared letters: ir. Private to "ri": -. Private to "ruim": mu.
"ri" · 2 letters · shape CV · "ruim" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ruim ← rium · rruim · ruimm · rumi · urim
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ri" for "ruim" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ri" or "ruim" show up more?
After this comparison
You've compared "ri" and "ruim". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "ri" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ruim" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ri" and "ruim" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rabi vs ri". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #64,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.