retiravsrutinaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: retira is a verb, rutina is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“retira” is a verb and “rutina” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,532
“retira” frequency rank
#4,833
“rutina” frequency rank
14365
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retira rutina
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retirar o de retirarse. Costumbre o hábito adquirido de hacer las cosas por mera práctica y de manera más o menos automática sin razonarlas.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set retira and rutina apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
retira
6 ch
rutina

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retira is [reˈt̪iɾa] while rutina is [ruˈt̪ina]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retira is recorded at frequency rank #9,532, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾa]. rutina is at rank #4,833, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ruˈt̪ina].

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 14365, this pair ranks #284,388 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of retira vs rutina

Shared letters: airt. Private to "retira": e. Private to "rutina": nu.

"retira" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "rutina" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retiraertira · reitra · retiar · retria · rettira · rretira · rteira
  • rutinarrutina · rtuina · ruitna · rutian · rutinna · rutnia · ruttina · urtina

Frequency comparison

retira#9,532
rutina#4,833

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retira" and "rutina" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "retira" is a verb and "rutina" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "retira" or "rutina"?
"rutina" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,833 in our Spanish list, against #9,532 for "retira". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering retira vs rutina

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “retira”; for a noun, it's “rutina”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “retira” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list