quem vs qui, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“quem” and “qui” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#68
“quem” frequency rank: #9,094
“qui” frequency rank: 9162
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	quem	qui
Definition	pronome que se refere a uma ou mais pessoas	que relativo; o qual, a qual, os quais, as quais

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quem and qui apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

quem

3 ch

qui

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quem (/ˈkɐ̃j̃/) and qui (/Ki/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quem is recorded at frequency rank #68, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈkɐ̃j̃/. qui is at rank #9,094, tagged as apron, pronounced /Ki/.

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 9162, this pair ranks #64,365 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quem vs qui

Shared letters: qu. Private to "quem": em. Private to "qui": i.

"quem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "qui" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

quem ← qeum · qquem · quemm · qume · uqem

Frequency comparison

quem#68

qui#9,094

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quem" and "qui" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈkɐ̃j̃/ versus /Ki/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "quem" or "qui"?

"quem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #68 in our Portuguese list, against #9,094 for "qui". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering quem vs qui

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quem” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable