Which to use
“retar” and “retardo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,304
- “retar” frequency rank
- #35,235
- “retardo” frequency rank
- 72539
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retar | retardo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dicho de un noble: acusar ante el rey a otro noble de alevosía, quedando obligado el primero a mantener la denuncia en buena lid. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de retardar. |
Where the eye mixes retar and retardo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. retar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against retardo's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses retar with retardo
A purely visual mix-up. retar ([reˈt̪aɾ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “retar” sits inside “retardo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72539, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retar is recorded at frequency rank #37,304, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪aɾ]. 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 72539, this pair ranks #25,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of retar vs retardo
Shared letters: aert. Private to "retar": -. Private to "retardo": do.
"retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "retardo" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retar" for "retardo" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "retar" or "retardo" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "retar" 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 #25,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retar" 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 #25,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.