Which to use
“lado” and “ló” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #199
- “lado” frequency rank
- #37,407
- “ló” frequency rank
- 37606
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lado | ló |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | parte direita ou esquerda de qualquer corpo | lado de uma embarcação que fica exposto ao vento |
Where the eye mixes lado and ló
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. lado runs 4 letters (CVCV) against ló's 2 (CV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lado with ló
A purely visual mix-up. lado (/ˈla.du/) and ló (/ˈlɔ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lado is recorded at frequency rank #199, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.du/. ló is at rank #37,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɔ/.
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 37606, this pair ranks #28,963 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lado vs ló
Shared letters: l. Private to "lado": ado. Private to "ló": ó.
"lado" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "ló" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lado ← aldo · laddo · laod · ldao · llado
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lado" and "ló" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lado" or "ló" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ló" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,963 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lado" and "ló" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ló vs loch". 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 #28,963 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.