Which to use
“lao” is an adjective and “las” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,079
- “lao” frequency rank
- #15
- “las” frequency rank
- 22094
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lao | las |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que pertenece o concierne a la etnia mayoritaria de Laos | Artículo determinado femenino plural. Antecede a sustantivos femeninos en plural denotando que estos deben tomarse como información general consabida. |
Where the eye mixes lao and las
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lao vs las
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lao is [ˈlao] while las is [las]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “lao” becomes s in “las”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lao is recorded at frequency rank #22,079, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlao]. las is at rank #15, tagged as anarticle, pronounced [las].
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 22094, this pair ranks #251,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lao vs las
Shared letters: al. Private to "lao": o. Private to "las": s.
"lao" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "las" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lao" for "las" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lao" or "las"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lao" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "las" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #251,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lao" and "las" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lao". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #251,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.