Which to use
“retirado” is an adjective and “retraso” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,111
- “retirado” frequency rank
- #6,113
- “retraso” frequency rank
- 12224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retirado | retraso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Distante, apartado, desviado. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de retrasar. |
Where the eye mixes retirado and retraso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. retirado runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against retraso's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between retirado and retraso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retirado is [ret̪iˈɾað̞o] while retraso is [reˈt̪ɾaso]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retirado is recorded at frequency rank #6,111, classified as anadj, pronounced [ret̪iˈɾað̞o]. retraso is at rank #6,113, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾaso].
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 12224, this pair ranks #292,299 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of retirado vs retraso
Shared letters: aeort. Private to "retirado": di. Private to "retraso": s.
"retirado" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "retraso" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retirado" and "retraso" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "retirado" vs "retraso" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "retirado" and "retraso" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "retirado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retraso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #292,299 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retirado" and "retraso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retrasan vs retraso". 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 #292,299 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.