Which to use
“retrait” and “retraite” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,501
- “retrait” frequency rank
- #1,343
- “retraite” frequency rank
- 4844
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retrait | retraite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de retirer. | Action de se retirer. |
Where the eye mixes retrait and retraite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. retrait runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against retraite's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses retrait with retraite
A purely visual mix-up. retrait (\ʁə.tʁɛ\) and retraite (\ʁə.tʁɛt\) 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) - “retrait” sits inside “retraite”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retrait is recorded at frequency rank #3,501, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.tʁɛ\. retraite is at rank #1,343, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.tʁɛt\.
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 4844, this pair ranks #430,540 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of retrait vs retraite
Shared letters: aeirt. Private to "retrait": -. Private to "retraite": -.
"retrait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "retraite" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retrait" for "retraite" ever safe?
Frequency check: "retrait" vs "retraite" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "retrait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retraite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #430,540 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retrait" and "retraite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retracé vs retrait". 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 #430,540 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.