latavslaúdTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,746
“lata” frequency rank
#42,534
“laúd” frequency rank
50280
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lata laúd
Definition Envase hecho de hojalata, con su contenido o sin él. 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 lata and laúd

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

4 ch
lata
4 ch
laúd

Look-alike desk: lata vs laúd

A purely visual mix-up. lata ([ˈlat̪a]) 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 50280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lata is recorded at frequency rank #7,746, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlat̪a]. 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 50280, this pair ranks #104,070 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lata vs laúd

Shared letters: al. Private to "lata": t. Private to "laúd": dú.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lata ← laat · latta · llata · ltaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lata" and "laúd" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlat̪a] versus [laˈuð̞]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lata" or "laúd"?
"lata" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,746 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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lata" 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 #104,070 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lata" 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 #104,070 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