hemvshuiConfusable pair

Quick tell: hem is a intj, hui is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#27,124
“hem” frequency rank
#41,055
“hui” frequency rank
68179
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hem hui
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 hoje

Letter map: hem vs hui

Shared letters muted; letters that set hem and hui apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
hem
3 ch
hui

Role in the sentence - hem and hui

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hem is anintj and huianadverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68179, 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/. hui is at rank #41,055, tagged as anadv.

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 68179, this pair ranks #4,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hem vs hui

Shared letters: h. Private to "hem": em. Private to "hui": iu.

"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hui" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hem" for "hui" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hem" is an intj and "hui" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "hem" vs "hui" - which ranks higher?
"hem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,124 in our Portuguese list, against #41,055 for "hui". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "hem" vs "hui" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #4,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hem" and "hui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hui vs Hut". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #4,372 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