Which to use
“retrasar” and “retratan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,808
- “retrasar” frequency rank
- #42,130
- “retratan” frequency rank
- 59938
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retrasar | retratan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer que algo llegue o suceda más tarde del tiempo debido o acordado. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retratar. |
Where the eye mixes retrasar and retratan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. retrasar and retratan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: retrasar vs retratan
A purely visual mix-up. retrasar ([ret̪ɾaˈsaɾ]) and retratan ([reˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]) 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 59938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retrasar is recorded at frequency rank #17,808, classified as averb, pronounced [ret̪ɾaˈsaɾ]. retratan is at rank #42,130, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾat̪ãn].
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 59938, this pair ranks #60,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of retrasar vs retratan
Shared letters: aert. Private to "retrasar": s. Private to "retratan": n.
"retrasar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "retratan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retrasar" for "retratan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "retrasar" or "retratan" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "retrasar" and "retratan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "retrasar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retratan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retrasar" and "retratan" 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 #60,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.