locavsloloWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: loca is a noun, lolo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“loca” is a noun and “lolo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,255
“loca” frequency rank
#42,546
“lolo” frequency rank
44801
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loca lolo
Definition Varón afeminado o abiertamente homosexual. Se dice de la persona joven, en la etapa de la maduración sexual, que ya no es niño y aun no es adulto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set loca and lolo apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
loca
4 ch
lolo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loca is [ˈloka] while lolo is [ˈlolo]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loca is recorded at frequency rank #2,255, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈloka]. lolo is at rank #42,546, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlolo].

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 44801, this pair ranks #135,053 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loca vs lolo

Shared letters: lo. Private to "loca": ac. Private to "lolo": -.

"loca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lolo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • localcoa · lloca · loac · locca · olca
  • lolollolo · lloo · lollo · lool · ollo

Frequency comparison

loca#2,255
lolo#42,546

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loca" and "lolo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loca" is a noun and "lolo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "loca" or "lolo"?
"loca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,255 in our Spanish list, against #42,546 for "lolo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering loca vs lolo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “loca”; for an adjective, it's “lolo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “loca” 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