Which to use
“retar” is a verb and “retro” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,304
- “retar” frequency rank
- #18,671
- “retro” frequency rank
- 55975
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retar | retro |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Que a causa de su apariencia evoca al pasado; que su apariencia está inspirada en diseños del pasado. |
Where the eye mixes retar and retro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. retar (CVCVC) and retro (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between retar and retro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retar is [reˈt̪aɾ] while retro is [ˈret̪ɾo]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55975, 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]. retro is at rank #18,671, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈret̪ɾo].
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 55975, this pair ranks #76,541 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of retar vs retro
Shared letters: ert. Private to "retar": a. Private to "retro": o.
"retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "retro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "retar" and "retro" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "retar" or "retro" show up more?
What to do next
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 "retro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,541 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retar" and "retro" 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 #76,541 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.