loçãovsloucoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,245
“loção” frequency rank
#1,649
“louco” frequency rank
33894
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loção louco
Definition líquido perfumado e levemente alcoolizado para o tratamento da pele e dos cabelos que perdeu a razão, maluco, demente, vesano, amente

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set loção and louco apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
loção
5 ch
louco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: loção is anoun and loucoanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33894, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loção is recorded at frequency rank #32,245, classified as anoun, pronounced /lu.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. louco is at rank #1,649, tagged as anadj.

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 33894, this pair ranks #33,500 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loção vs louco

Shared letters: lo. Private to "loção": ãç. Private to "louco": cu.

"loção" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "louco" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • loucollouco · locuo · loucco · louoc · luoco · oluco

Frequency comparison

loção#32,245
louco#1,649

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loção" and "louco" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loção" is a noun and "louco" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "loção" or "louco"?
"louco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,649 in our Portuguese list, against #32,245 for "loção". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering loção vs louco

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “loção”; for an adjective, it's “louco”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “loção” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list