aquém
Portuguese, adverb/aˈkẽj̃/
aquém is spelled A-Q-U-É-M (5 letters) and appears 1.5 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 26,311th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Aquém is a Portuguese adverb meaning “on this side; here” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “da parte ou do lado de cá”.
What does aquém mean in English?
adverb
- 1
on this side; here
- 2
below; underneath
- 3
something that falls short of a goal or an expectation
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adverb: 1. da parte ou do lado de cá 2. menor, abaixo
prefix: 1. em proximidade ou em maior proximidade ao aqui relativamente a
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
How do you pronounce aquém?
- Brazil /aˈkẽj̃/
- Brazil [aˈkẽɪ̯̃]
- Brazil /aˈkwẽj̃/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is aquém in Portuguese?
aquém appears 1.5 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).