lentovslongoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,426
“lento” frequency rank
#49,119
“longo” frequency rank
52545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lento longo
Definition Que obra, sucede o se hace con velocidad reducida. Largo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lento and longo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lento
5 ch
longo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lento ([ˈlẽn̪t̪o]) and longo ([ˈloŋɡʊ]) 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 52545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lento is recorded at frequency rank #3,426, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlẽn̪t̪o]. longo is at rank #49,119, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈloŋɡʊ].

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 52545, this pair ranks #92,174 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lento vs longo

Shared letters: lno. Private to "lento": et. Private to "longo": g.

"lento" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "longo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lentoelnto · lennto · lenot · lentto · letno · llento · lneto
  • longollongo · lnogo · logno · longgo · lonngo · lonog · olngo

Frequency comparison

lento#3,426
longo#49,119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lento" and "longo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlẽn̪t̪o] versus [ˈloŋɡʊ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lento" or "longo"?
"lento" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,426 in our Spanish list, against #49,119 for "longo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lento vs longo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lento” 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