àquele vs aquém, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“àquele” is a contraction and “aquém” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,461
“àquele” frequency rank: #26,275
“aquém” frequency rank: 36736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	àquele	aquém
Definition	contração da preposição a com o pronome demonstrativo aquele	da parte ou do lado de cá

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set àquele and aquém apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

àquele

5 ch

aquém

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: àquele is acontraction and aquémanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

àquele is recorded at frequency rank #10,461, classified as acontraction. aquém is at rank #26,275, tagged as anadv, pronounced /aˈkɐ̃j̃/.

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 36736, this pair ranks #30,015 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of àquele vs aquém

Shared letters: qu. Private to "àquele": elà. Private to "aquém": amé.

"àquele" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "aquém" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC

Frequency comparison

àquele#10,461

aquém#26,275

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "àquele" and "aquém" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "àquele" is a contraction and "aquém" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "àquele" or "aquém"?

"àquele" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,461 in our Portuguese list, against #26,275 for "aquém". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering àquele vs aquém

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “àquele”; for an adverb, it's “aquém”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “àquele” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable