locovslottoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#972
“loco” frequency rank
#49,769
“lotto” frequency rank
50741
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loco lotto
Definition Que no está en su sano juicio, que se comporta de forma irracional. Tipo de lotería muy popular en Suecia, que consiste en atinar a 7 números de 35.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
loco
5 ch
lotto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loco is [ˈloko] while lotto is [ˈlɔtːɔ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loco is recorded at frequency rank #972, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈloko]. lotto is at rank #49,769, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔtːɔ].

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 50741, this pair ranks #101,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loco vs lotto

Shared letters: lo. Private to "loco": c. Private to "lotto": t.

"loco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lotto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • locolcoo · lloco · locco · looc · olco
  • lottollotto · lotot · ltoto · oltto

Frequency comparison

loco#972
lotto#49,769

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loco" and "lotto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loco" is an adjective and "lotto" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "loco" or "lotto"?
"loco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #972 in our Spanish list, against #49,769 for "lotto". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering loco vs lotto

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 “lotto”.
  • 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