Which to use
“retrasado” is an adjective and “retrasados” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,916
- “retrasado” frequency rank
- #23,217
- “retrasados” frequency rank
- 36133
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retrasado | retrasados |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que padece retraso mental. | Forma del plural de retrasado, participio de retrasar. |
Where the eye mixes retrasado and retrasados
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. retrasado runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against retrasados's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses retrasado with retrasados
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retrasado is [ret̪ɾaˈsað̞o] while retrasados is [ret̪ɾaˈsað̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “retrasado” sits inside “retrasados”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36133, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retrasado is recorded at frequency rank #12,916, classified as anadj, pronounced [ret̪ɾaˈsað̞o]. retrasados is at rank #23,217, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [ret̪ɾaˈsað̞os].
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 36133, this pair ranks #182,303 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of retrasado vs retrasados
Shared letters: adeorst. Private to "retrasado": -. Private to "retrasados": -.
"retrasado" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "retrasados" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- retrasado ← ertrasado · rertasado · retarsado · retraasdo · retrasaddo · retrasaod · retrasdao · retrassado
- retrasados ← ertrasados · rertasados · retarsados · retraasdos · retrasaddos · retrasadoss · retrasadso · retrasaods
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retrasado" for "retrasados" ever safe?
Which is more common, "retrasado" or "retrasados"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "retrasado" and "retrasados" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "retrasado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retrasados" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,303 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retrasado" and "retrasados" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retrasados vs retratados". 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 #182,303 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.