cemvschiWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: cem is a num, chi is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cem” is a num and “chi” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,188
“cem” frequency rank
#10,328
“chi” frequency rank
13516
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cem chi
Definition número equivalente a dez dezenas; cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha uma centena de elementos distintos; representado pelo símbolo 100 (algarismos arábicos) ou C (algarismos romanos) quem

Letter map: cem vs chi

Shared letters muted; letters that set cem and chi apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
cem
3 ch
chi

Role in the sentence - cem and chi

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: cem is anum and chiapronoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cem is recorded at frequency rank #3,188, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈsɐ̃j̃/. chi is at rank #10,328, tagged as apron.

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 13516, this pair ranks #58,798 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cem vs chi

Shared letters: c. Private to "cem": em. Private to "chi": hi.

"cem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "chi" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cem" and "chi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cem" is a num and "chi" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cem" or "chi"?
"cem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,188 in our Portuguese list, against #10,328 for "chi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "cem" and "chi". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "chi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,798 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cem" and "chi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chau vs chi". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #58,798 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list