reparadovsretardoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#25,436
“reparado” frequency rank
#35,235
“retardo” frequency rank
60671
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reparado retardo
Definition Participio de reparar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de retardar.

Where the eye mixes reparado and retardo

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

8 ch
reparado
7 ch
retardo

Visual trap between reparado and retardo

A purely visual mix-up. reparado ([repaˈɾað̞o]) and retardo ([reˈt̪aɾð̞o]) 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 60671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reparado is recorded at frequency rank #25,436, classified as averb, pronounced [repaˈɾað̞o]. retardo is at rank #35,235, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪aɾð̞o].

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 60671, this pair ranks #58,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of reparado vs retardo

Shared letters: adeor. Private to "reparado": p. Private to "retardo": t.

"reparado" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "retardo" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reparado ← erparado · reaprado · repaardo · reparaddo · reparaod · repardao · reparrado · repparado
  • retardo ← ertardo · reatrdo · retadro · retarddo · retarod · retarrdo · retrado · rettardo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reparado" and "retardo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([repaˈɾað̞o] versus [reˈt̪aɾð̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "reparado" or "retardo" show up more?
"reparado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,436 in our Spanish list, against #35,235 for "retardo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "reparado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "retardo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reparado" and "retardo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regado vs retardo". 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 #58,147 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