Which to use
“lost” is a noun and “luso” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,302
- “lost” frequency rank
- #44,297
- “luso” frequency rank
- 62599
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lost | luso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cola de animal. | Originario, relativo a, o propio de Portugal. |
Where the eye mixes lost and luso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lost with luso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lost is /ˈlɔst/ while luso is [ˈluso]. 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 62599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lost is recorded at frequency rank #18,302, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɔst/. 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 62599, this pair ranks #51,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lost vs luso
Shared letters: los. Private to "lost": t. Private to "luso": u.
"lost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "luso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lost" for "luso" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lost" vs "luso" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lost" 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 #51,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lost" 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 #51,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.