Which to use
“retenait” and “retenir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,724
- “retenait” frequency rank
- #3,565
- “retenir” frequency rank
- 38289
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retenait | retenir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de retenir. | Garder par-devers soi ce qui est à un autre. |
Where the eye mixes retenait and retenir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. retenait runs 8 letters (CVCVCVVC) against retenir's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses retenait with retenir
A purely visual mix-up. retenait (\ʁə.tə.nɛ\) and retenir (\ʁət.niʁ\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retenait is recorded at frequency rank #34,724, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.tə.nɛ\. retenir is at rank #3,565, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁət.niʁ\.
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 38289, this pair ranks #256,312 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of retenait vs retenir
Shared letters: einrt. Private to "retenait": a. Private to "retenir": -.
"retenait" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "retenir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retenait" for "retenir" ever safe?
Which is more common, "retenait" or "retenir"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "retenait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retenir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #256,312 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retenait" and "retenir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rejetait vs retenait". 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 #256,312 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.