Which to use
“retratan” and “retratar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,130
- “retratan” frequency rank
- #27,765
- “retratar” frequency rank
- 69895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retratan | retratar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de retratar. | Hacer un retrato. |
Where the eye mixes retratan and retratar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. retratan and retratar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses retratan with retratar
A purely visual mix-up. retratan ([reˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]) 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 differ by a single letter - n in “retratan” becomes r in “retratar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retratan is recorded at frequency rank #42,130, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]. 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 69895, this pair ranks #30,966 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of retratan vs retratar
Shared letters: aert. Private to "retratan": n. Private to "retratar": -.
"retratan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "retratar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retratan" for "retratar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "retratan" or "retratar"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "retratan" 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 #30,966 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retratan" 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 #30,966 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.