Which to use
“qual” and “quem” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #125
- “qual” frequency rank
- #68
- “quem” frequency rank
- 193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | qual | quem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | quem, que; o pronome qual enfatiza a eleição entre várias possibilidades | pronome que se refere a uma ou mais pessoas |
Where the eye mixes qual and quem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: qual vs quem
A purely visual mix-up. qual (/ˈkwaɫ/) and quem (/ˈkɐ̃j̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
qual is recorded at frequency rank #125, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈkwaɫ/. quem is at rank #68, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈkɐ̃j̃/.
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 193, this pair ranks #75,443 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of qual vs quem
Shared letters: qu. Private to "qual": al. Private to "quem": em.
"qual" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "quem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "qual" and "quem" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "qual" vs "quem" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "qual" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,443 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "qual" and "quem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "qual vs quit". 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 #75,443 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.