um

/ũw/

//ũw// article

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“um” sits in 19 confusable pairs (corpus #12) as an article. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#12
frequency rank, Portuguese
147
“U” headwords
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - qualquer

Corpus desk

Index PT-um · um · Portuguese

um · rank #12 · 0 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #12
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 147
  • PHOTO-FINISH não

Nearest frequency peer: não (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “um”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “um” sits against the nearest ranked Portuguese headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

um vs us
50% similar
um vs ur
50% similar
um vs ut
50% similar

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

Key facts for um
PropertyValue
Headwordum
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechArticle
IPA/ũw/
Letters2
Frequency rank#12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “um” 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). um lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for um is neighbouring look-alikes ("us", "ur", …), not just typos; it is anarticle pronounced /ũw/. Frequency #12 among 147 “U” headwords. Gloss: "qualquer".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for um, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "us", "ur", "ut", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is um, spelled U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    qualquer

This word in other languages

a(English)un(Español)un(Français)ein(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "um"?
"um" is spelled U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ũw/.
What does "um" mean?
As an article, "um" means: qualquer
What words are commonly confused with "um"?
"um" is commonly confused with "us", "ur", "ut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "um"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "um" is /ũw/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "um" come from?
"um" 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.
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