lavabovslavoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lavabo is a noun, lavo is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lavabo” is a noun and “lavo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,282
“lavabo” frequency rank
#26,508
“lavo” frequency rank
53790
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lavabo lavo
Definition Pila dedicada al aseo de la parte superior del cuerpo. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de lavar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lavabo and lavo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
lavabo
4 ch
lavo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lavabo is [laˈβ̞aβ̞o] while lavo is [ˈlaβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53790, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lavabo is recorded at frequency rank #27,282, classified as anoun, pronounced [laˈβ̞aβ̞o]. lavo is at rank #26,508, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaβ̞o].

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 53790, this pair ranks #86,192 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lavabo vs lavo

Shared letters: alov. Private to "lavabo": b. Private to "lavo": -.

"lavabo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "lavo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lavaboalvabo · laavbo · lababo · lavabbo · lavaob · lavavo · lavbao · lavvabo
  • lavoalvo · labo · laov · lavvo · llavo · lvao

Frequency comparison

lavabo#27,282
lavo#26,508

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lavabo" and "lavo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lavabo" is a noun and "lavo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lavabo" or "lavo"?
"lavo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,508 in our Spanish list, against #27,282 for "lavabo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lavabo vs lavo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lavabo”; for a verb, it's “lavo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lavabo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list