Which to use
“gem” and “gene” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,472
- “gem” frequency rank
- #7,160
- “gene” frequency rank
- 43632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gem | gene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gema (pedra preciosa) | sequência de nucleotídeos do DNA que pode ser transcrita em uma versão de RNA |
Where the eye mixes gem and gene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: gem vs gene
A purely visual mix-up. gem (/ʤɛm/) and gene (/ˈʒɛ.nɨ/) 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 43632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gem is recorded at frequency rank #36,472, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʤɛm/. gene is at rank #7,160, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʒɛ.nɨ/.
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 43632, this pair ranks #21,998 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gem vs gene
Shared letters: eg. Private to "gem": m. Private to "gene": n.
"gem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "gene" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- gene ← egne · geen · genne · ggene · gnee
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gem" for "gene" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gem" vs "gene" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,998 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gem" and "gene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gem vs GQ". 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 #21,998 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.