relatanvsretratanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,643
“relatan” frequency rank
#42,130
“retratan” frequency rank
72773
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature relatan retratan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de relatar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retratar.

Where the eye mixes relatan and retratan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. relatan runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against retratan's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
relatan
8 ch
retratan

Visual trap between relatan and retratan

A purely visual mix-up. relatan ([reˈlat̪ãn]) and retratan ([reˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]) 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 72773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

relatan is recorded at frequency rank #30,643, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈlat̪ãn]. retratan is at rank #42,130, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾat̪ãn].

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 72773, this pair ranks #24,690 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of relatan vs retratan

Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "relatan": l. Private to "retratan": -.

"relatan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "retratan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • relatan ← erlatan · realtan · relaatn · relatann · relatna · relattan · rellatan · reltaan
  • retratan ← ertratan · rertatan · retartan · retraatn · retratann · retratna · retrattan · retrratan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "relatan" for "retratan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([reˈlat̪ãn] versus [reˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "relatan" or "retratan"?
"relatan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,643 in our Spanish list, against #42,130 for "retratan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "relatan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "retratan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #24,690 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "relatan" and "retratan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retrasan vs retratan". 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 #24,690 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