lacavslacanWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: laca is a noun, lacan is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“laca” is a noun and “lacan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,780
“laca” frequency rank
#35,583
“lacan” frequency rank
74363
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laca lacan
Definition Barniz, cubierta de maderas y otros materiales. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de lacar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
laca
5 ch
lacan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laca is [ˈlaka] while lacan is [ˈlakãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “laca” sits inside “lacan”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laca is recorded at frequency rank #38,780, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaka]. lacan is at rank #35,583, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlakãn].

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 74363, this pair ranks #21,475 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of laca vs lacan

Shared letters: acl. Private to "laca": -. Private to "lacan": n.

"laca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lacan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lacaalca · laac · lacca · lcaa · llaca
  • lacanalcan · laacn · lacann · laccan · lacna · lcaan · llacan

Frequency comparison

laca#38,780
lacan#35,583

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laca" and "lacan" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laca" is a noun and "lacan" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laca" or "lacan"?
"lacan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,583 in our Spanish list, against #38,780 for "laca". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laca vs lacan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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