Which to use
“um” and “uma” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12
- “um” frequency rank
- #13
- “uma” frequency rank
- 25
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | um | uma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | qualquer | feminino de um |
Where the eye mixes um and uma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. um (/ũw/) and uma (/ˈu.mɐ/) 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 extra letter(s) - “um” sits inside “uma”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
um is recorded at frequency rank #12, classified as anarticle, pronounced /ũw/. uma is at rank #13, tagged as anarticle, pronounced /ˈu.mɐ/.
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 25, this pair ranks #75,623 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of um vs uma
Shared letters: mu. Private to "um": -. Private to "uma": a.
"um" · 2 letters · shape VC · "uma" · 3 letters · shape VCV