Which to use
“reían” and “retar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,823
- “reían” frequency rank
- #37,304
- “retar” frequency rank
- 67127
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reían | retar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de reír o de reírse. | 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 reían and retar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. reían (CVVVC) and retar (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses reían with retar
A purely visual mix-up. reían ([reˈiãn]) and retar ([reˈt̪aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reían is recorded at frequency rank #29,823, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈiãn]. 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 67127, this pair ranks #37,966 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of reían vs retar
Shared letters: aer. Private to "reían": ní. Private to "retar": t.
"reían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- retar ← ertar · reatr · retarr · retra · rettar · rretar · rtear
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reían" and "retar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "reían" vs "retar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "reían" and "retar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "reían" 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 #37,966 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reían" 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 #37,966 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.