refierevsretireWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“refiere” and “retire” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,748
“refiere” frequency rank
#14,947
“retire” frequency rank
16695
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refiere retire
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de referir o de referirse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de retirar o de retirarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set refiere and retire apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
refiere
6 ch
retire

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. refiere ([reˈfjeɾe]) and retire ([reˈt̪iɾe]) 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 16695, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refiere is recorded at frequency rank #1,748, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈfjeɾe]. retire is at rank #14,947, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾe].

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 16695, this pair ranks #275,130 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of refiere vs retire

Shared letters: eir. Private to "refiere": f. Private to "retire": t.

"refiere" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "retire" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • refiereerfiere · refeire · reffiere · refieer · refierre · refiree · reifere · rfeiere
  • retireertire · reitre · retier · retirre · retrie · rettire · rretire · rteire

Frequency comparison

refiere#1,748
retire#14,947

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "refiere" and "retire" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈfjeɾe] versus [reˈt̪iɾe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "refiere" or "retire"?
"refiere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,748 in our Spanish list, against #14,947 for "retire". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering refiere vs retire

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “refiere” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list