retratovsretratosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,252
“retrato” frequency rank
#9,533
“retratos” frequency rank
14785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retrato retratos
Definition Imagen pictórica de alguien o algo, casi siempre de una persona. Forma del plural de retrato.

Where the eye mixes retrato and retratos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. retrato runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against retratos's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
retrato
8 ch
retratos

Why the eye confuses retrato with retratos

A purely visual mix-up. retrato ([reˈt̪ɾat̪o]) and retratos ([reˈt̪ɾat̪os]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “retrato” sits inside “retratos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retrato is recorded at frequency rank #5,252, classified as anoun, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾat̪o]. retratos is at rank #9,533, tagged as anoun, pronounced [reˈt̪ɾat̪os].

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 14785, this pair ranks #282,741 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of retrato vs retratos

Shared letters: aeort. Private to "retrato": -. Private to "retratos": s.

"retrato" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "retratos" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retratoertrato · rertato · retarto · retraot · retratto · retrrato · retrtao · rettrato
  • retratosertratos · rertatos · retartos · retraots · retratoss · retratso · retrattos · retrratos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retrato" and "retratos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈt̪ɾat̪o] versus [reˈt̪ɾat̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "retrato" vs "retratos" - which ranks higher?
"retrato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,252 in our Spanish list, against #9,533 for "retratos". 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 "retrato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "retratos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #282,741 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "retrato" and "retratos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retracto vs retratos". 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 #282,741 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