loavsLohWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: loa is a noun, Loh is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“loa” is a noun and “Loh” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,899
“loa” frequency rank
#47,164
“Loh” frequency rank
80063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loa Loh
Definition In the voodoo religion, a spirit intermediary between Bondye (the creator god) and human beings. A surname.

Letter map: loa vs Loh

Shared letters muted; letters that set loa and Loh apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. loa (CVV) and Loh (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
loa
3 ch
Loh

Grammar separator: loa vs Loh

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: loa is anoun and Lohaname. On the page they differ by a single letter - a in “loa” becomes h in “Loh”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loa is recorded at frequency rank #32,899, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈləʊ̯ə/. Loh is at rank #47,164, tagged as aname.

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 80063, this pair ranks #20,639 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of loa vs Loh

Shared letters: lo. Private to "loa": a. Private to "Loh": h.

"loa" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Loh" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loa" and "Loh" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loa" is a noun and "Loh" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "loa" vs "Loh" - which ranks higher?
"loa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,899 in our English list, against #47,164 for "Loh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "loa" and "Loh".

  • Full dictionary entry for "loa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Loh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #20,639 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "loa" and "Loh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Loh vs LSC". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #20,639 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list