rixavsruínaConfusable pair

Which to use

“rixa” and “ruína” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,259
“rixa” frequency rank
#17,138
“ruína” frequency rank
44397
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rixa ruína
Definition contenda; briga; desordem um prédio ou local destruído, decaído

Where the eye mixes rixa and ruína

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
rixa
5 ch
ruína

Why the eye confuses rixa with ruína

A purely visual mix-up. rixa (/ˈRi.ʃɐ/) and ruína (/ˈʀwi.nɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44397, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rixa is recorded at frequency rank #27,259, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈRi.ʃɐ/. ruína is at rank #17,138, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʀwi.nɐ/.

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 44397, this pair ranks #21,099 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rixa vs ruína

Shared letters: ar. Private to "rixa": ix. Private to "ruína": nuí.

"rixa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "ruína" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rixairxa · riax · rixxa · rrixa · rxia

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rixa" and "ruína" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈRi.ʃɐ/ versus /ˈʀwi.nɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "rixa" vs "ruína" - which ranks higher?
"ruína" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,138 in our Portuguese list, against #27,259 for "rixa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rixa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ruína" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #21,099 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rixa" and "ruína" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rimar vs rixa". 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 #21,099 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