lagovslocoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,955
“lago” frequency rank
#11,910
“loco” frequency rank
14865
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lago loco
Definition acumulação permanente de água numa depressão louco

Where the eye mixes lago and loco

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lago
4 ch
loco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lago is /ˈla.ɡu/ while loco is /ˈlo.ko/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14865, 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/. loco is at rank #11,910, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlo.ko/.

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 14865, this pair ranks #57,100 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lago vs loco

Shared letters: lo. Private to "lago": ag. Private to "loco": c.

"lago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "loco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lagolaggo · laog · lgao · llago
  • locolcoo · lloco · locco · looc · olco

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lago" and "loco" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lago" is a noun and "loco" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lago" or "loco"?
"lago" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,955 in our Portuguese list, against #11,910 for "loco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list