Which to use
“loco” and “luso” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #972
- “loco” frequency rank
- #44,297
- “luso” frequency rank
- 45269
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loco | luso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que no está en su sano juicio, que se comporta de forma irracional. | Originario, relativo a, o propio de Portugal. |
Where the eye mixes loco and luso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. loco and luso follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses loco with luso
A purely visual mix-up. loco ([ˈloko]) and luso ([ˈluso]) 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 45269, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loco is recorded at frequency rank #972, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈloko]. luso is at rank #44,297, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈluso].
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 45269, this pair ranks #132,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of loco vs luso
Shared letters: lo. Private to "loco": c. Private to "luso": su.
"loco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "luso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "loco" and "luso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "loco" vs "luso" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "loco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "luso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #132,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loco" and "luso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ledo vs luso". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #132,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.