Which to use
“recta” is a noun and “retar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,910
- “recta” frequency rank
- #37,304
- “retar” frequency rank
- 45214
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recta | retar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Entidad geométrica de una sola dimensión compuesta de un conjunto infinito de puntos, y que representa el camino más corto entre un punto y otro. | Dicho de un noble: acusar ante el rey a otro noble de alevosía, quedando obligado el primero a mantener la denuncia en buena lid. |
Where the eye mixes recta and retar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: recta vs retar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recta is [ˈrekt̪a] while retar is [reˈt̪aɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 45214, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recta is recorded at frequency rank #7,910, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈrekt̪a]. retar is at rank #37,304, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪aɾ].
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 45214, this pair ranks #132,727 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of recta vs retar
Shared letters: aert. Private to "recta": c. Private to "retar": -.
"recta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "recta" for "retar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "recta" vs "retar" - which ranks higher?
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 "recta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #132,727 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recta" and "retar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "renard vs retar". 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 #132,727 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.