Which to use
“que” is an adverb and “quem” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4
- “que” frequency rank
- #68
- “quem” frequency rank
- 72
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | que | quem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | quanto, quão grande, qual de | pronome que se refere a uma ou mais pessoas |
Where the eye mixes que and quem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: que vs quem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: que is /ˈkɨ/ while quem is /ˈkɐ̃j̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “que” sits inside “quem”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
que is recorded at frequency rank #4, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈkɨ/. 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 72, this pair ranks #75,579 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of que vs quem
Shared letters: equ. Private to "que": -. Private to "quem": m.
"que" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "quem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- quem ← qeum · qquem · quemm · qume · uqem
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "que" and "quem" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "que" vs "quem" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "que" 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 #75,579 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "que" and "quem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quem 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 #75,579 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.