Which to use
“laço” is a noun and “lau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,518
- “laço” frequency rank
- #21,230
- “lau” frequency rank
- 30748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laço | lau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nó que se desata facilmente | morno, tépido: |
Where the eye mixes laço and lau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. laço runs 4 letters (CVCV) against lau's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses laço with lau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laço is /ˈla.su/ while lau is /ˈlaʊ̯/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30748, 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/. 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 30748, this pair ranks #37,520 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laço vs lau
Shared letters: al. Private to "laço": oç. Private to "lau": u.
"laço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laço" for "lau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "laço" vs "lau" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "laço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,520 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laço" and "lau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laca vs lau". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #37,520 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.