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 eye mixes retrasado and retrasan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. retrasado runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against retrasan's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: retrasado vs retrasan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retrasado is [ret̪ɾaˈsað̞o] while retrasan is [reˈt̪ɾasãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. 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.
Orthographic DNA of retrasado vs retrasan
Shared letters: aerst. Private to "retrasado": do. Private to "retrasan": n.
"retrasado" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "retrasan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retrasado" and "retrasan" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "retrasado" or "retrasan"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "retrasado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retrasan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retrasado" and "retrasan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retrasan vs retratan". 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 #52,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.