Which to use
“Qu” is a character and “qui” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,430
- “Qu” frequency rank
- #12,907
- “qui” frequency rank
- 21337
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Qu | qui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dígrafo del alfabeto gallego. Su nombre es que u. | Quién. |
Where the eye mixes Qu and qui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Qu runs 2 letters (CV) against qui's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Qu with qui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Qu is [ˈku] while qui is [ˈki]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Qu” sits inside “qui”, and the parts of speech differ too (character vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Qu is recorded at frequency rank #8,430, classified as acharacter, pronounced [ˈku]. qui is at rank #12,907, tagged as apron, pronounced [ˈki].
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 21337, this pair ranks #255,379 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Qu vs qui
Shared letters: qu. Private to "Qu": -. Private to "qui": i.
"Qu" · 2 letters · shape CV · "qui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Qu" for "qui" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Qu" or "qui"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Qu" and "qui" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Qu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "qui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,379 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Qu" and "qui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Qom vs qui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #255,379 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.