Which to use
“lata” and “lato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,442
- “lata” frequency rank
- #22,703
- “lato” frequency rank
- 29145
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lata | lato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | folha de ferro laminada e estanhada | verão |
Where the eye mixes lata and lato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lata with lato
A purely visual mix-up. lata (/ˈla.tɐ/) and lato (/ˈlatɔ/) 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 a single letter - a in “lata” becomes o in “lato”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lata is recorded at frequency rank #6,442, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.tɐ/. lato is at rank #22,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlatɔ/.
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 29145, this pair ranks #39,568 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lata vs lato
Shared letters: alt. Private to "lata": -. Private to "lato": o.
"lata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lata" and "lato" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lata" vs "lato" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lata" and "lato" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #39,568 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lata" and "lato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laca vs lato". 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 #39,568 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.