luavslutoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,619
“lua” frequency rank
#5,112
“luto” frequency rank
6731
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lua luto
Definition satélite natural da Terra, que se destaca no céu durante a noite dor causada pela morte de alguém ou por grande calamidade

Where the eye mixes lua and luto

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
lua
4 ch
luto

Look-alike desk: lua vs luto

A purely visual mix-up. lua (/'lua/) and luto (/ˈlu.tu/) 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 6731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lua is recorded at frequency rank #1,619, classified as anoun, pronounced /'lua/. luto is at rank #5,112, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlu.tu/.

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 6731, this pair ranks #67,631 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lua vs luto

Shared letters: lu. Private to "lua": a. Private to "luto": ot.

"lua" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "luto" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lutolluto · ltuo · luot · lutto · ulto

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lua" and "luto" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/'lua/ versus /ˈlu.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lua" vs "luto" - which ranks higher?
"lua" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,619 in our Portuguese list, against #5,112 for "luto". 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 "lua" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "luto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #67,631 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lua" and "luto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ludo vs luto". 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 #67,631 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