loovsluiConfusable pair

Which to use

“loo” and “lui” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,690
“loo” frequency rank
#36,659
“lui” frequency rank
80349
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loo lui
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de loar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de luir.

Where the eye mixes loo and lui

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
loo
3 ch
lui

Visual trap between loo and lui

A purely visual mix-up. loo ([ˈloo]) and lui ([ˈlwi]) 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 80349, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loo is recorded at frequency rank #43,690, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈloo]. lui is at rank #36,659, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlwi].

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 80349, this pair ranks #11,774 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of loo vs lui

Shared letters: l. Private to "loo": o. Private to "lui": iu.

"loo" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "loo" for "lui" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈloo] versus [ˈlwi]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "loo" or "lui" show up more?
"lui" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,659 in our Spanish list, against #43,690 for "loo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "loo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,774 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "loo" and "lui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loo vs lotto". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #11,774 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list