retarvsretiraWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#37,304
“retar” frequency rank
#9,532
“retira” frequency rank
46836
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retar retira
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. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retirar o de retirarse.

Where the eye mixes retar and retira

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. retar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against retira's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
retar
6 ch
retira

Look-alike desk: retar vs retira

A purely visual mix-up. retar ([reˈt̪aɾ]) and retira ([reˈt̪iɾa]) 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 46836, 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]. 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 46836, this pair ranks #123,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of retar vs retira

Shared letters: aert. Private to "retar": -. Private to "retira": i.

"retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "retira" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retar ← ertar · reatr · retarr · retra · rettar · rretar · rtear
  • retira ← ertira · reitra · retiar · retria · rettira · rretira · rteira

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "retar" and "retira" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([reˈt̪aɾ] versus [reˈt̪iɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "retar" or "retira"?
"retira" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,532 in our Spanish list, against #37,304 for "retar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "retar" and "retira" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "retar" 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 #123,443 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retar" and "retira" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "renard vs retar". 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 #123,443 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