lacavslaúdWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,780
“laca” frequency rank
#42,534
“laúd” frequency rank
81314
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laca laúd
Definition Barniz, cubierta de maderas y otros materiales. Instrumento musical antiguo de cuerda, formado por una caja de resonancia ovalada y abombada por la parte trasera, seis pares de cuerdas, y cuyo clavijero forma un ángulo muy pronunciado con el mango, que es corto.

Where the eye mixes laca and laúd

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. laca (CVCV) and laúd (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
laca
4 ch
laúd

Why the eye confuses laca with laúd

A purely visual mix-up. laca ([ˈlaka]) and laúd ([laˈuð̞]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81314, 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]. laúd is at rank #42,534, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laˈuð̞].

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 81314, this pair ranks #10,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of laca vs laúd

Shared letters: al. Private to "laca": c. Private to "laúd": dú.

"laca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "laúd" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laca ← alca · laac · lacca · lcaa · llaca

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "laca" and "laúd" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaka] versus [laˈuð̞]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laca" or "laúd"?
"laca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,780 in our Spanish list, against #42,534 for "laúd". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "laca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "laúd" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #10,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "laca" and "laúd" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs laúd". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #10,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list