laicovslaoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#18,296
“laico” frequency rank
#22,079
“lao” frequency rank
40375
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laico lao
Definition Dicho de una persona, que no ejerce el sacerdocio ni está adscrita a ninguna orden religiosa Que pertenece o concierne a la etnia mayoritaria de Laos

Where the eye mixes laico and lao

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
laico
3 ch
lao

Look-alike desk: laico vs lao

A purely visual mix-up. laico ([ˈlajko]) and lao ([ˈlao]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40375, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laico is recorded at frequency rank #18,296, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlajko]. lao is at rank #22,079, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlao].

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 40375, this pair ranks #159,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laico vs lao

Shared letters: alo. Private to "laico": ci. Private to "lao": -.

"laico" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "lao" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laicoalico · laicco · laioc · liaco · llaico

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "laico" and "lao" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlajko] versus [ˈlao]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "laico" vs "lao" - which ranks higher?
"laico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,296 in our Spanish list, against #22,079 for "lao". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "laico" and "lao" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "laico" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lao" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #159,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "laico" and "lao" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lao". 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 #159,442 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