lato vs lobo, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“lato” and “lobo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,703
“lato” frequency rank: #4,408
“lobo” frequency rank: 27111
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	lato	lobo
Definition	verão	parte saliente de um órgão; porção de um órgão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lato and lobo apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

lato

4 ch

lobo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lato (/ˈlatɔ/) and lobo (/ˈlɔ.bʊ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lato is recorded at frequency rank #22,703, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlatɔ/. lobo is at rank #4,408, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɔ.bʊ/.

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 27111, this pair ranks #41,906 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lato vs lobo

Shared letters: lo. Private to "lato": at. Private to "lobo": b.

"lato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lobo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

lato ← laot · latto · llato · ltao
lobo ← lboo · llobo · lobbo · loob · olbo

Frequency comparison

lato#22,703

lobo#4,408

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lato" and "lobo" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈlatɔ/ versus /ˈlɔ.bʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "lato" or "lobo"?

"lobo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,408 in our Portuguese list, against #22,703 for "lato". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lato vs lobo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lato” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable