letvsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,782
“let” frequency rank
#37,407
“ló” frequency rank
44189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature let
Definition obstáculo lado de uma embarcação que fica exposto ao vento

Where the eye mixes let and ló

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
let
2 ch
ló

Why the eye confuses let with ló

A purely visual mix-up. let (/lɛt/ Áudio (EUA)^(fonte ?)) and (/ˈlɔ/) 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 44189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

let is recorded at frequency rank #6,782, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛt/ Áudio (EUA)^(fonte ?). is at rank #37,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɔ/.

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 44189, this pair ranks #21,345 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of let vs ló

Shared letters: l. Private to "let": et. Private to "ló": ó.

"let" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "ló" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "let" and "ló" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɛt/ Áudio (EUA)^(fonte ?) versus /ˈlɔ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "let" vs "ló" - which ranks higher?
"let" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,782 in our Portuguese list, against #37,407 for "ló". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "let" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ló" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #21,345 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "let" and "ló" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ló vs loch". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #21,345 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list