Which to use
“hem” and “hum” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,124
- “hem” frequency rank
- #7,922
- “hum” frequency rank
- 35046
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hem | hum |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | (com realização com alongamento da vogal nasal) expressa dúvida, receio, inquietação, reticência |
Where the eye mixes hem and hum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between hem and hum
A purely visual mix-up. hem (/ẽɲ/) and hum (/ˈũ/) 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 a single letter - e in “hem” becomes u in “hum”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35046, 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/. hum is at rank #7,922, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ˈũ/.
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 35046, this pair ranks #32,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hem vs hum
Shared letters: hm. Private to "hem": e. Private to "hum": u.
"hem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "hum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hem" and "hum" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "hem" or "hum"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hem" and "hum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hem vs hui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #32,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.