Which to use
“retrasado” is an adjective and “retrasan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,916
- “retrasado” frequency rank
- #49,252
- “retrasan” frequency rank
- 62168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retrasado | retrasan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que padece retraso mental. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retrasar. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set retrasado and retrasan apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
retrasado and retrasan form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62168, 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]. retrasan is at rank #49,252, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾasãn].
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 62168, this pair ranks #52,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retrasado" and "retrasan" be used interchangeably?
Remembering retrasado vs retrasan
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “retrasado”; for a verb, it's “retrasan”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “retrasado” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable