Which to use
“harém” is a noun and “hem” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,624
- “harém” frequency rank
- #27,124
- “hem” frequency rank
- 62748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | harém | hem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | parte do palácio onde vivem as mulheres (entre os povos muçulmanos) | expressa incompreensão, não entendimento, simultaneamente comunicando àquele ao qual se dirige, que elucide o sentido, o nexo, que dê clareza ou que melhor se fale ou expresse o que se acabou de comunicar |
Where the eye mixes harém and hem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: harém vs hem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: harém is /a.ˈɾɐ̃j̃/ while hem is /ẽɲ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
harém is recorded at frequency rank #35,624, classified as anoun, pronounced /a.ˈɾɐ̃j̃/. hem is at rank #27,124, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ẽɲ/.
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 62748, this pair ranks #6,509 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of harém vs hem
Shared letters: hm. Private to "harém": aré. Private to "hem": e.
"harém" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "harém" for "hem" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "harém" or "hem" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "harém" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #6,509 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "harém" and "hem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "haber vs harém". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #6,509 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.