retrasavsretrasoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#28,549
“retrasa” frequency rank
#6,113
“retraso” frequency rank
34662
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retrasa retraso
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retrasar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de retrasar.

Where the eye mixes retrasa and retraso

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. retrasa and retraso follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
retrasa
7 ch
retraso

Why the eye confuses retrasa with retraso

A purely visual mix-up. retrasa ([reˈt̪ɾasa]) and retraso ([reˈt̪ɾaso]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “retrasa” becomes o in “retraso”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34662, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retrasa is recorded at frequency rank #28,549, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾasa]. 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 34662, this pair ranks #190,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of retrasa vs retraso

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "retrasa": -. Private to "retraso": o.

"retrasa" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "retraso" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retrasaertrasa · rertasa · retarsa · retraas · retrassa · retrrasa · retrsaa · rettrasa
  • retrasoertraso · rertaso · retarso · retraos · retrasso · retrraso · retrsao · rettraso

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "retrasa" for "retraso" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([reˈt̪ɾasa] versus [reˈt̪ɾaso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "retrasa" vs "retraso" - which ranks higher?
"retraso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,113 in our Spanish list, against #28,549 for "retrasa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "retrasa" and "retraso" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "retrasa" 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 #190,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retrasa" and "retraso" 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 #190,256 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