retarvsrobarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#37,304
“retar” frequency rank
#3,080
“robar” frequency rank
40384
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retar robar
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. Quitar o tomar para sí lo ajeno usando la fuerza.

Where the eye mixes retar and robar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. retar and robar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
retar
5 ch
robar

Visual trap between retar and robar

A purely visual mix-up. retar ([reˈt̪aɾ]) and robar ([roˈβ̞aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40384, 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]. robar is at rank #3,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [roˈβ̞aɾ].

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 40384, this pair ranks #159,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of retar vs robar

Shared letters: ar. Private to "retar": et. Private to "robar": bo.

"retar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "robar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retar ← ertar · reatr · retarr · retra · rettar · rretar · rtear
  • robar ← orbar · rboar · roabr · robarr · robbar · robra · rovar · rrobar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retar" and "robar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈt̪aɾ] versus [roˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "retar" or "robar"?
"robar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,080 in our Spanish list, against #37,304 for "retar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "retar" and "robar" 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 "robar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #159,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retar" and "robar" 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 #159,389 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