que

/ˈkɨ/

//ˈkɨ// adv

The verdict

“que” is in the everyday core of Portuguese, ranked #4 in Portuguese word frequency and used as an adverb.

#4
frequency rank, Portuguese
3
letters
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - quanto, quão grande, qual de

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

que vs qui
67% similar
que vs quem
75% similar
que vs quer
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for que
PropertyValue
Headwordque
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈkɨ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “que” sits in Portuguese frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). que lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for que is 3 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɨ/. Corpus data places it at rank #4 in overall Portuguese word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "quanto, quão grande, qual de".

No generated misspelling entries exist for que in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "qui", "quem", "quer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Portuguese form is que, spelled Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    quanto, quão grande, qual de

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "que"?
"que" is spelled Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɨ/.
What does "que" mean?
As an adverb, "que" means: quanto, quão grande, qual de
What words are commonly confused with "que"?
"que" is commonly confused with "qui", "quem", "quer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "que"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "que" is /ˈkɨ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "que" come from?
"que" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “que”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is Q-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkɨ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “qui” - see the side-by-side comparison. que vs qui
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list