Which to use
“queima” is a noun and “quem” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,135
- “queima” frequency rank
- #68
- “quem” frequency rank
- 5203
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | queima | quem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de queimar | pronome que se refere a uma ou mais pessoas |
Where the eye mixes queima and quem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between queima and quem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: queima is /ˈkɐj.mɐ/ while quem is /ˈkɐ̃j̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 5203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
queima is recorded at frequency rank #5,135, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɐj.mɐ/. 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 5203, this pair ranks #69,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of queima vs quem
Shared letters: emqu. Private to "queima": ai. Private to "quem": -.
"queima" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV · "quem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "queima" for "quem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "queima" or "quem"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "queima" 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 #69,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "queima" 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 #69,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.