Which to use
“lock” is a noun and “loco” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,711
- “lock” frequency rank
- #11,910
- “loco” frequency rank
- 34621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lock | loco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fechadura | louco |
Where the eye mixes lock and loco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lock vs loco
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lock is /lɒk/ while loco is /ˈlo.ko/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - k in “lock” becomes o in “loco”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lock is recorded at frequency rank #22,711, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɒk/. loco is at rank #11,910, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlo.ko/.
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 34621, this pair ranks #32,590 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lock vs loco
Shared letters: clo. Private to "lock": k. Private to "loco": -.
"lock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "loco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lock" and "loco" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lock" or "loco" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,590 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lock" and "loco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loch vs lock". 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 #32,590 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.