laca vs lacra, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“laca” and “lacra” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,780
“laca” frequency rank: #26,114
“lacra” frequency rank: 64894
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	laca	lacra
Definition	Barniz, cubierta de maderas y otros materiales.	Secuela de una enfermedad.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

laca

5 ch

lacra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laca ([ˈlaka]) and lacra ([ˈlakɾa]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64894, 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]. lacra is at rank #26,114, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlakɾa].

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 64894, this pair ranks #44,239 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of laca vs lacra

Shared letters: acl. Private to "laca": -. Private to "lacra": r.

"laca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lacra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

laca ← alca · laac · lacca · lcaa · llaca
lacra ← alcra · lacar · laccra · lacrra · larca · llacra

Frequency comparison

laca#38,780

lacra#26,114

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laca" and "lacra" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈlaka] versus [ˈlakɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "laca" or "lacra"?

"lacra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,114 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 lacra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laca” entry
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