Which to use
“lao” is an adjective and “los” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,079
- “lao” frequency rank
- #8
- “los” frequency rank
- 22087
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lao | los |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que pertenece o concierne a la etnia mayoritaria de Laos | Artículo determinado masculino plural. El singular es lo. |
Where the eye mixes lao and los
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lao with los
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lao is [ˈlao] while los is [los]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22087, 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]. los is at rank #8, tagged as anarticle, pronounced [los].
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 22087, this pair ranks #251,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lao vs los
Shared letters: lo. Private to "lao": a. Private to "los": s.
"lao" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "los" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lao" and "los" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lao" vs "los" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lao" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "los" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #251,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lao" and "los" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lao". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #251,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.