lottavslottoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lotta is a contraction, lotto is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lotta” is a contraction and “lotto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,426
“lotta” frequency rank
#21,568
“lotto” frequency rank
43994
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lotta lotto
Definition Contraction of lot + of. a game of chance similar to bingo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lotta and lotto apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lotta
5 ch
lotto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lotta is /ˈlɒtə/ while lotto is /ˈlɔtəʉ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “lotta” becomes o in “lotto”, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lotta is recorded at frequency rank #22,426, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈlɒtə/. lotto is at rank #21,568, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɔtəʉ/.

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 43994, this pair ranks #234,714 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lotta vs lotto

Shared letters: lot. Private to "lotta": a. Private to "lotto": -.

"lotta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lotto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lottallotta · lota · lotat · ltota · oltta
  • lottollotto · lotot · ltoto · oltto

Frequency comparison

lotta#22,426
lotto#21,568

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lotta" and "lotto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lotta" is a contraction and "lotto" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lotta" or "lotto"?
"lotto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,568 in our English list, against #22,426 for "lotta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lotta vs lotto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “lotta”; for a noun, it's “lotto”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lotta” 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