reíanvsretiranConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#29,823
“reían” frequency rank
#20,501
“retiran” frequency rank
50324
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reían retiran
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de reír o de reírse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retirar o de retirarse.

Where the eye mixes reían and retiran

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. reían runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against retiran's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
reían
7 ch
retiran

Look-alike desk: reían vs retiran

A purely visual mix-up. reían ([reˈiãn]) and retiran ([reˈt̪iɾãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50324, 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]. retiran is at rank #20,501, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾãn].

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 50324, this pair ranks #103,812 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reían vs retiran

Shared letters: aenr. Private to "reían": í. Private to "retiran": it.

"reían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "retiran" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retiran ← ertiran · reitran · retiarn · retirann · retirna · retirran · retrian · rettiran

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "reían" for "retiran" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([reˈiãn] versus [reˈt̪iɾãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "reían" vs "retiran" - which ranks higher?
"retiran" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,501 in our Spanish list, against #29,823 for "reían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "reían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "retiran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #103,812 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reían" and "retiran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reían vs rias". 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 #103,812 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list