retardovsrezandoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,235
“retardo” frequency rank
#16,447
“rezando” frequency rank
51682
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retardo rezando
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de retardar. Gerundio de rezar.

Where the eye mixes retardo and rezando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. retardo and rezando follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
retardo
7 ch
rezando

Why the eye confuses retardo with rezando

A purely visual mix-up. retardo ([reˈt̪aɾð̞o]) and rezando ([reˈsãn̪d̪o]) 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 51682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retardo is recorded at frequency rank #35,235, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪aɾð̞o]. rezando is at rank #16,447, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈsãn̪d̪o].

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 51682, this pair ranks #96,637 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of retardo vs rezando

Shared letters: adeor. Private to "retardo": t. Private to "rezando": nz.

"retardo" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "rezando" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retardo ← ertardo · reatrdo · retadro · retarddo · retarod · retarrdo · retrado · rettardo
  • rezando ← erzando · reazndo · rezadno · rezanddo · rezanndo · rezanod · reznado · rezzando

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "retardo" for "rezando" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([reˈt̪aɾð̞o] versus [reˈsãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "retardo" or "rezando" show up more?
"rezando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,447 in our Spanish list, against #35,235 for "retardo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "retardo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rezando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #96,637 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retardo" and "rezando" 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 #96,637 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