retiravsretirezWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,349
“retira” frequency rank
#21,446
“retirez” frequency rank
44795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retira retirez
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple du verbe retirer. Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de retirer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set retira and retirez apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
retira
7 ch
retirez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. retira (\ʁə.ti.ʁa\) and retirez (\ʁə.ti.ʁe\) 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 44795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retira is recorded at frequency rank #23,349, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.ti.ʁa\. retirez is at rank #21,446, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.ti.ʁe\.

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 44795, this pair ranks #207,755 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of retira vs retirez

Shared letters: eirt. Private to "retira": a. Private to "retirez": z.

"retira" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "retirez" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retiraertira · reitra · retiar · retirra · retria · rettira · rretira · rteira
  • retirezertirez · reitrez · retierz · retirezz · retirrez · retirze · retriez · rettirez

Frequency comparison

retira#23,349
retirez#21,446

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retira" and "retirez" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.ti.ʁa\ versus \ʁə.ti.ʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "retira" or "retirez"?
"retirez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,446 in our French list, against #23,349 for "retira". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering retira vs retirez

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 “retira” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list