retiraronvsretirarseTell them apart

Which to use

“retiraron” and “retirarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,710
“retiraron” frequency rank
#7,783
“retirarse” frequency rank
23493
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retiraron retirarse
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de retirar o de retirarse. Quitarse o alejarse de algo o alguien, de modo de no estar en contacto.

Where the eye mixes retiraron and retirarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. retiraron (CVCVCVCVC) and retirarse (CVCVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
retiraron
9 ch
retirarse

Why the eye confuses retiraron with retirarse

A purely visual mix-up. retiraron ([ret̪iˈɾaɾõn]) and retirarse ([ret̪iˈɾaɾse]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retiraron is recorded at frequency rank #15,710, classified as averb, pronounced [ret̪iˈɾaɾõn]. retirarse is at rank #7,783, tagged as averb, pronounced [ret̪iˈɾaɾse].

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 23493, this pair ranks #245,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of retiraron vs retirarse

Shared letters: aeirt. Private to "retiraron": no. Private to "retirarse": s.

"retiraron" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "retirarse" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retiraronertiraron · reitraron · retiarron · retiraorn · retirarno · retiraronn · retirarron · retirraon
  • retirarseertirarse · reitrarse · retiarrse · retirarce · retirares · retirarrse · retirarsse · retirasre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retiraron" and "retirarse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ret̪iˈɾaɾõn] versus [ret̪iˈɾaɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "retiraron" vs "retirarse" - which ranks higher?
"retirarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,783 in our Spanish list, against #15,710 for "retiraron". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "retiraron" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "retirarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #245,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retiraron" and "retirarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retirará vs retiraron". 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 #245,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list