Which to use
“látex” and “lato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,039
- “látex” frequency rank
- #22,703
- “lato” frequency rank
- 45742
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | látex | lato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | substância líquida, espessa, geralmente leitosa, presente em algumas plantas | verão |
Where the eye mixes látex and lato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. látex runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against lato's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses látex with lato
A purely visual mix-up. látex (/ˈla.tɛks/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45742, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
látex is recorded at frequency rank #23,039, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.tɛks/. 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 45742, this pair ranks #19,651 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of látex vs lato
Shared letters: lt. Private to "látex": exá. Private to "lato": ao.
"látex" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "lato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lato ← laot · latto · llato · ltao
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "látex" and "lato" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "látex" vs "lato" - which ranks higher?
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 "látex" 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 #19,651 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "látex" 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 #19,651 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.