Which to use
“repisa” is a noun and “retira” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,231
- “repisa” frequency rank
- #9,532
- “retira” frequency rank
- 52763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repisa | retira |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Soporte fabricado en obra (ladrillo, escayola, etc.), madera, metal u otro material resistente, como derivados del vidrio y el plástico, que aplicado o instalado horizontalmente en paredes, muros, muebles o armarios, o disponiendo de patas, sirve de superficie de base de muy variado uso en casas, establecimientos de venta, industrias, talleres, etc. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retirar o de retirarse. |
Where the eye mixes repisa and retira
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. repisa and retira follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses repisa with retira
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: repisa is [reˈpisa] while retira is [reˈt̪iɾa]. 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 52763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repisa is recorded at frequency rank #43,231, classified as anoun, pronounced [reˈpisa]. retira is at rank #9,532, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾa].
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 52763, this pair ranks #91,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of repisa vs retira
Shared letters: aeir. Private to "repisa": ps. Private to "retira": t.
"repisa" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "retira" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "repisa" for "retira" ever safe?
Which is more common, "repisa" or "retira"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "repisa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retira" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #91,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repisa" and "retira" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rebasa vs repisa". 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 #91,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.