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 eye mixes retira and rutina
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. retira and rutina follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses retira with rutina
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retira" and "rutina" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "retira" or "rutina" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "retira" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rutina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #284,388 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retira" and "rutina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regirán vs retira". 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 #284,388 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.