locovsloftWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: loco is a adjective, loft is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#972
“loco” frequency rank
#44,838
“loft” frequency rank
45810
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loco loft
Definition Que no está en su sano juicio, que se comporta de forma irracional. Ático, desván o área de almacenamiento, usualmente con techo inclinado.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
loco
4 ch
loft

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loco is [ˈloko] while loft is /lɒft/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loco is recorded at frequency rank #972, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈloko]. loft is at rank #44,838, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒft/.

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 45810, this pair ranks #129,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loco vs loft

Shared letters: lo. Private to "loco": c. Private to "loft": ft.

"loco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "loft" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • locolcoo · lloco · locco · looc · olco
  • loftlfot · lloft · lofft · loftt · lotf · olft

Frequency comparison

loco#972
loft#44,838

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loco" and "loft" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loco" is an adjective and "loft" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "loco" or "loft"?
"loco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #972 in our Spanish list, against #44,838 for "loft". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering loco vs loft

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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