retenían

[ret̪eˈniãn]

/[ret̪eˈniãn]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“retenían” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #89,296 among 48,955 “R” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,296
frequency rank, Spanish
48,955
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de retener.

Key facts for retenían
PropertyValue
Headwordretenían
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ret̪eˈniãn]
Letters8
Frequency rank#89,296
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “retenían” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). retenían lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

retenían is uncommon Spanish at frequency #89,296 among 48,955 “R” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ret̪eˈniãn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de retener.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for retenían, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is retenían, spelled R-E-T-E-N-Í-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de retener.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "retenían"?
"retenían" is spelled R-E-T-E-N-Í-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ret̪eˈniãn].
What does "retenían" mean?
As a verb, "retenían" means: Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de retener.
How do you pronounce "retenían"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "retenían" is [ret̪eˈniãn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "retenían" come from?
"retenían" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “retenían”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is R-E-T-E-N-Í-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ret̪eˈniãn] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words

Other uncommon Spanish words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list