Which to use
“qui” is a pronoun and “quis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,094
- “qui” frequency rank
- #1,256
- “quis” frequency rank
- 10350
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | qui | quis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que relativo; o qual, a qual, os quais, as quais | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo querer |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set qui and quis apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: qui is /Ki/ while quis is /ˈkis/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “qui” sits inside “quis”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10350, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
qui is recorded at frequency rank #9,094, classified as apron, pronounced /Ki/. quis is at rank #1,256, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkis/.
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 10350, this pair ranks #62,786 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of qui vs quis
Shared letters: iqu. Private to "qui": -. Private to "quis": s.
"qui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "quis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- quis ← qius · qquis · quiss · qusi · uqis
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "qui" and "quis" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "qui" or "quis"?
Remembering qui vs quis
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “qui”; for a verb, it's “quis”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “qui” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable