Which to use
“retire” is a verb and “retiro” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,947
- “retire” frequency rank
- #3,211
- “retiro” frequency rank
- 18158
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retire | retiro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de retirar o de retirarse. | Acción o efecto de retirarse. |
Where the eye mixes retire and retiro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses retire with retiro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retire is [reˈt̪iɾe] while retiro is [reˈt̪iɾo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “retire” becomes o in “retiro”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retire is recorded at frequency rank #14,947, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾe]. retiro is at rank #3,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced [reˈt̪iɾo].
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 18158, this pair ranks #269,096 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of retire vs retiro
Shared letters: eirt. Private to "retire": -. Private to "retiro": o.
"retire" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "retiro" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retire" and "retiro" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "retire" or "retiro" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "retire" and "retiro" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "retire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retiro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #269,096 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retire" and "retiro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repetiré vs retire". 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 #269,096 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.