quedavsquemConfusable pair

Quick tell: queda is a noun, quem is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“queda” is a noun and “quem” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,623
“queda” frequency rank
#68
“quem” frequency rank
1691
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature queda quem
Definition o fato de cair, tombo pronome que se refere a uma ou mais pessoas

Where the eye mixes queda and quem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
queda
4 ch
quem

Why the eye confuses queda with quem

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: queda is /ˈkɛ.dɐ/ while quem is /ˈkɐ̃j̃/. 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 (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1691, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

queda is recorded at frequency rank #1,623, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɛ.dɐ/. 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 1691, this pair ranks #73,827 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of queda vs quem

Shared letters: equ. Private to "queda": ad. Private to "quem": m.

"queda" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "quem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedaqeuda · qqueda · qudea · quead · quedda · uqeda
  • quemqeum · qquem · quemm · qume · uqem

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "queda" and "quem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "queda" is a noun and "quem" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "queda" vs "quem" - which ranks higher?
"quem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #68 in our Portuguese list, against #1,623 for "queda". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "queda" and "quem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "queda" 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 #73,827 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "queda" 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 #73,827 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