Which to use
“um” is an article and “uni” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12
- “um” frequency rank
- #18,214
- “uni” frequency rank
- 18226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | um | uni |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | qualquer | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo unir |
Where the eye mixes um and uni
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: um is /ũw/ while uni is /ʊ.ˈni/. 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 (article vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
um is recorded at frequency rank #12, classified as anarticle, pronounced /ũw/. uni is at rank #18,214, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʊ.ˈni/.
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 18226, this pair ranks #52,817 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of um vs uni
Shared letters: u. Private to "um": m. Private to "uni": in.
"um" · 2 letters · shape VC · "uni" · 3 letters · shape VCV