Which to use
“laço” and “loção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,518
- “laço” frequency rank
- #32,245
- “loção” frequency rank
- 41763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laço | loção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nó que se desata facilmente | líquido perfumado e levemente alcoolizado para o tratamento da pele e dos cabelos |
Where the eye mixes laço and loção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. laço runs 4 letters (CVCV) against loção's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between laço and loção
A purely visual mix-up. laço (/ˈla.su/) and loção (/lu.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41763, 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/. loção is at rank #32,245, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lu.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 41763, this pair ranks #24,111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laço vs loção
Shared letters: loç. Private to "laço": a. Private to "loção": ã.
"laço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "loção" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "laço" and "loção" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "laço" or "loção" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loção" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laço" and "loção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loção vs loch". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #24,111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.