quasivsquiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quasi is a adverb, qui is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quasi” is an adverb and “qui” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,738
“quasi” frequency rank
#18,668
“qui” frequency rank
21406
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quasi qui
Definition gleichsam, sozusagen der, die, das; wer, was

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
quasi
3 ch
qui

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quasi is [ˈkvaːzi] while qui is [ki]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quasi is recorded at frequency rank #2,738, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈkvaːzi]. qui is at rank #18,668, tagged as apron, pronounced [ki].

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 21406, this pair ranks #1,886,643 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quasi vs qui

Shared letters: iqu. Private to "quasi": as. Private to "qui": -.

"quasi" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "qui" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quasiqausi · qquasi · quais · quassi · qusai · uqasi

Frequency comparison

quasi#2,738
qui#18,668

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quasi" and "qui" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quasi" is an adverb and "qui" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quasi" or "qui"?
"quasi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,738 in our German list, against #18,668 for "qui". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quasi vs qui

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “quasi”; for a pronoun, it's “qui”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quasi” 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