Which to use
“loco” is an adverb and “look” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,141
- “loco” frequency rank
- #151
- “look” frequency rank
- 22292
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loco | look |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower. | To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes. |
Where the eye mixes loco and look
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loco is /ˈləʊ.kəʊ/ while look is /lʊk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loco is recorded at frequency rank #22,141, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈləʊ.kəʊ/. look is at rank #151, tagged as averb, pronounced /lʊk/.
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 22292, this pair ranks #417,651 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of loco vs look
Shared letters: lo. Private to "loco": c. Private to "look": k.
"loco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "look" · 4 letters · shape CVVC