Which to use
“regreso” is a noun and “retraso” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,700
- “regreso” frequency rank
- #6,113
- “retraso” frequency rank
- 7813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regreso | retraso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de regresar | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de retrasar. |
Where the eye mixes regreso and retraso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. regreso and retraso follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between regreso and retraso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: regreso is [reˈɣ̞ɾeso] while retraso is [reˈt̪ɾaso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 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 7813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
regreso is recorded at frequency rank #1,700, classified as anoun, pronounced [reˈɣ̞ɾeso]. retraso is at rank #6,113, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾaso].
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 7813, this pair ranks #306,852 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of regreso vs retraso
Shared letters: eors. Private to "regreso": g. Private to "retraso": at.
"regreso" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "retraso" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "regreso" and "retraso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "regreso" or "retraso"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "regreso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retraso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,852 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regreso" and "retraso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retrasan vs retraso". 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 #306,852 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.