Which to use
“retirada” is a noun and “retrasa” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,885
- “retirada” frequency rank
- #28,549
- “retrasa” frequency rank
- 34434
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retirada | retrasa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de retirar o de retirarse. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retrasar. |
Where the eye mixes retirada and retrasa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. retirada runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against retrasa's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between retirada and retrasa
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retirada is [ret̪iˈɾað̞a] while retrasa is [reˈt̪ɾasa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retirada is recorded at frequency rank #5,885, classified as anoun, pronounced [ret̪iˈɾað̞a]. retrasa is at rank #28,549, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾasa].
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 34434, this pair ranks #191,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of retirada vs retrasa
Shared letters: aert. Private to "retirada": di. Private to "retrasa": s.
"retirada" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "retrasa" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "retirada" and "retrasa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "retirada" or "retrasa"?
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 "retirada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retrasa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #191,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retirada" and "retrasa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retrasa vs retrasan". 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 #191,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.