Which to use
“lo” is an article and “luto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19
- “lo” frequency rank
- #11,444
- “luto” frequency rank
- 11463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lo | luto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Artículo determinado de género neutro que se usa para sustantivar adjetivos o frases. Forma del neutro de el. | Expresión de pena por la muerte de una persona, se manifiesta en la ropa y accesorios de color negro, así como en adornos que se colocan en el lugar donde vivía o donde se vela el difunto. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lo and luto apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lo and luto form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lo is recorded at frequency rank #19, classified as anarticle, pronounced [lo]. luto is at rank #11,444, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlut̪o].
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 11463, this pair ranks #295,026 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lo" and "luto" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lo vs luto
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an article, it's “lo”; for a noun, it's “luto”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lo” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable