retrasanvsretratarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,252
“retrasan” frequency rank
#27,765
“retratar” frequency rank
77017
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retrasan retratar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retrasar. Hacer un retrato.

Where the eye mixes retrasan and retratar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
retrasan
8 ch
retratar

Why the eye confuses retrasan with retratar

A purely visual mix-up. retrasan ([reˈt̪ɾasãn]) and retratar ([ret̪ɾaˈt̪aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77017, 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]. retratar is at rank #27,765, tagged as averb, pronounced [ret̪ɾaˈt̪aɾ].

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 77017, this pair ranks #16,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of retrasan vs retratar

Shared letters: aert. Private to "retrasan": ns. Private to "retratar": -.

"retrasan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "retratar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retrasanertrasan · rertasan · retarsan · retraasn · retrasann · retrasna · retrassan · retrrasan
  • retratarertratar · rertatar · retartar · retraatr · retratarr · retratra · retrattar · retrratar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "retrasan" and "retratar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([reˈt̪ɾasãn] versus [ret̪ɾaˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "retrasan" vs "retratar" - which ranks higher?
"retratar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,765 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.

Useful next steps

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 "retratar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #16,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retrasan" and "retratar" 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 #16,732 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