Which to use
“retirar” is a verb and “retiros” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,429
- “retirar” frequency rank
- #25,796
- “retiros” frequency rank
- 31225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retirar | retiros |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Quitar o alejar a algo o alguien de una cosa o persona, de modo que no estén en contacto. | Forma del plural de retiro. |
Where the eye mixes retirar and retiros
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. retirar and retiros follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between retirar and retiros
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retirar is [ret̪iˈɾaɾ] while retiros is [reˈt̪iɾos]. 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 31225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retirar is recorded at frequency rank #5,429, classified as averb, pronounced [ret̪iˈɾaɾ]. retiros is at rank #25,796, tagged as anoun, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾos].
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 31225, this pair ranks #208,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of retirar vs retiros
Shared letters: eirt. Private to "retirar": a. Private to "retiros": os.
"retirar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "retiros" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retirar" for "retiros" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "retirar" or "retiros" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "retirar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retiros" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #208,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retirar" and "retiros" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réditos vs retiros". 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 #208,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.