retardevsretarderWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“retarde” and “retarder” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#26,160
“retarde” frequency rank
#12,466
“retarder” frequency rank
38626
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retarde retarder
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de retarder. Différer ; temporiser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set retarde and retarder apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
retarde
8 ch
retarder

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. retarde (\ʁə.taʁd\) and retarder (\ʁə.taʁ.de\) 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) - “retarde” sits inside “retarder”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retarde is recorded at frequency rank #26,160, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.taʁd\. retarder is at rank #12,466, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.taʁ.de\.

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 38626, this pair ranks #253,956 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of retarde vs retarder

Shared letters: adert. Private to "retarde": -. Private to "retarder": -.

"retarde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "retarder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retardeertarde · reatrde · retadre · retardde · retared · retarrde · retrade · rettarde
  • retarderertarder · reatrder · retadrer · retardder · retarderr · retardre · retaredr · retarrder

Frequency comparison

retarde#26,160
retarder#12,466

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retarde" and "retarder" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.taʁd\ versus \ʁə.taʁ.de\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "retarde" or "retarder"?
"retarder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,466 in our French list, against #26,160 for "retarde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering retarde vs retarder

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “retarde” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list