lagovslaicoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,955
“lago” frequency rank
#25,719
“laico” frequency rank
28674
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lago laico
Definition acumulação permanente de água numa depressão quem ou que não pertence ao clero; secular, leigo, sem confissão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lago and laico apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lago
5 ch
laico

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lago is anoun and laicoanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28674, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lago is recorded at frequency rank #2,955, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.ɡu/. laico is at rank #25,719, tagged as anadj.

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 28674, this pair ranks #40,128 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lago vs laico

Shared letters: alo. Private to "lago": g. Private to "laico": ci.

"lago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "laico" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lagolaggo · laog · lgao · llago
  • laicoalico · lacio · laicco · laioc · liaco · llaico

Frequency comparison

lago#2,955
laico#25,719

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lago" and "laico" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lago" is a noun and "laico" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lago" or "laico"?
"lago" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,955 in our Portuguese list, against #25,719 for "laico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lago vs laico

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lago”; for an adjective, it's “laico”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lago” 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