laçovslapaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“laço” and “lapa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,518
“laço” frequency rank
#9,071
“lapa” frequency rank
18589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laço lapa
Definition nó que se desata facilmente grande pedra ou laje que se sobressai de um rochedo, formando um refúgio

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
laço
4 ch
lapa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laço (/ˈla.su/) and lapa (/ˈla.pɐ/) 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 18589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laço is recorded at frequency rank #9,518, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.su/. lapa is at rank #9,071, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.pɐ/.

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 18589, this pair ranks #52,366 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laço vs lapa

Shared letters: al. Private to "laço": . Private to "lapa": p.

"laço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lapa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lapaalpa · laap · lappa · llapa · lpaa

Frequency comparison

laço#9,518
lapa#9,071

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laço" and "lapa" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈla.su/ versus /ˈla.pɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laço" or "lapa"?
"lapa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,071 in our Portuguese list, against #9,518 for "laço". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laço vs lapa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laço” 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