retrasanvsretrasarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#49,252
“retrasan” frequency rank
#17,808
“retrasar” frequency rank
67060
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retrasan retrasar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retrasar. Hacer que algo llegue o suceda más tarde del tiempo debido o acordado.

Where the eye mixes retrasan and retrasar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. retrasan and retrasar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
retrasan
8 ch
retrasar

Look-alike desk: retrasan vs retrasar

A purely visual mix-up. retrasan ([reˈt̪ɾasãn]) and retrasar ([ret̪ɾaˈsaɾ]) 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 - n in “retrasan” becomes r in “retrasar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retrasan is recorded at frequency rank #49,252, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾasãn]. retrasar is at rank #17,808, tagged as averb, pronounced [ret̪ɾaˈsaɾ].

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 67060, this pair ranks #38,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of retrasan vs retrasar

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "retrasan": n. Private to "retrasar": -.

"retrasan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "retrasar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retrasanertrasan · rertasan · retarsan · retraasn · retrasann · retrasna · retrassan · retrrasan
  • retrasarertrasar · rertasar · retarsar · retraasr · retrasarr · retrasra · retrassar · retrrasar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retrasan" and "retrasar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈt̪ɾasãn] versus [ret̪ɾaˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "retrasan" vs "retrasar" - which ranks higher?
"retrasar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,808 in our Spanish list, against #49,252 for "retrasan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "retrasan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "retrasar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #38,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retrasan" and "retrasar" 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 #38,133 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