Which to use
“beau” is an adjective and “bem” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,243
- “beau” frequency rank
- #54
- “bem” frequency rank
- 29297
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beau | bem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bonito | de maneira hábil, segura |
Where the eye mixes beau and bem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: beau vs bem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beau is /bo/ while bem is /ˈbẽĩ̯/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29297, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beau is recorded at frequency rank #29,243, classified as anadj, pronounced /bo/. bem is at rank #54, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈbẽĩ̯/.
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 29297, this pair ranks #39,384 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of beau vs bem
Shared letters: be. Private to "beau": au. Private to "bem": m.
"beau" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "bem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- beau ← baeu · bbeau · beua · ebau
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beau" and "bem" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "beau" vs "bem" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "beau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #39,384 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beau" and "bem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baús vs beau". 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 #39,384 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.