Which to use
“retar” is a verb and “retiro” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,304
- “retar” frequency rank
- #3,211
- “retiro” frequency rank
- 40515
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retar | retiro |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Acción o efecto de retirarse. |
Where the eye mixes retar and retiro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. retar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against retiro's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between retar and retiro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retar is [reˈt̪aɾ] while retiro is [reˈt̪iɾo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40515, 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]. retiro is at rank #3,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾo].
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 40515, this pair ranks #158,662 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of retar vs retiro
Shared letters: ert. Private to "retar": a. Private to "retiro": io.
"retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "retiro" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retar" for "retiro" ever safe?
Frequency check: "retar" vs "retiro" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "retar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retiro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #158,662 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retar" and "retiro" 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 #158,662 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.