hemvshomoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: hem is a intj, homo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hem” is an intj and “homo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,124
“hem” frequency rank
#16,307
“homo” frequency rank
43431
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hem homo
Definition 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 homem, indivíduo da espécie humana

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hem and homo apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
hem
4 ch
homo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hem is /ẽɲ/ while homo is /ˈhɔ.mo/. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43431, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hem is recorded at frequency rank #27,124, classified as anintj, pronounced /ẽɲ/. homo is at rank #16,307, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɔ.mo/.

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 43431, this pair ranks #22,204 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hem vs homo

Shared letters: hm. Private to "hem": e. Private to "homo": o.

"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "homo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • homohhomo · hmoo · hommo · hoom · ohmo

Frequency comparison

hem#27,124
homo#16,307

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hem" and "homo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hem" is an intj and "homo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hem" or "homo"?
"homo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,307 in our Portuguese list, against #27,124 for "hem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hem vs homo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “hem”; for a noun, it's “homo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hem” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list