lacavslauWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: laca is a noun, lau is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#48,502
“laca” frequency rank
#21,230
“lau” frequency rank
69732
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laca lau
Definition resina ou goma resinosa obtida de certas árvores no Oriente morno, tépido:

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
laca
3 ch
lau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

laca and lau form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laca is recorded at frequency rank #48,502, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.kɐ/. lau is at rank #21,230, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlaʊ̯/.

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 69732, this pair ranks #3,861 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

laca#48,502
lau#21,230

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laca" and "lau" be used interchangeably?
No, "laca" and "lau" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering laca vs lau

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “laca”; for an adjective, it's “lau”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laca” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list