Which to use
“aquém” and “aqui” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,275
- “aquém” frequency rank
- #63
- “aqui” frequency rank
- 26338
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aquém | aqui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | da parte ou do lado de cá | lugar onde situa-se o interlocutor |
Where the eye mixes aquém and aqui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. aquém runs 5 letters (VCVVC) against aqui's 4 (VCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses aquém with aqui
A purely visual mix-up. aquém (/aˈkɐ̃j̃/) and aqui (/a.ˈki/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aquém is recorded at frequency rank #26,275, classified as anadv, pronounced /aˈkɐ̃j̃/. aqui is at rank #63, tagged as anadv, pronounced /a.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 26338, this pair ranks #42,854 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aquém vs aqui
Shared letters: aqu. Private to "aquém": mé. Private to "aqui": i.
"aquém" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "aqui" · 4 letters · shape VCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- aqui ← aqiu · aqqui · auqi · qaui
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aquém" and "aqui" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "aquém" or "aqui" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "aquém" and "aqui" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "aquém" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aqui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,854 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aquém" and "aqui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "andi vs aqui". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #42,854 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.