Index vs Indien, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Index” is a noun and “Indien” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,127
“Index” frequency rank: #3,260
“Indien” frequency rank: 7387
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Index	Indien
Definition	Register, zum Beispiel als alphabetisches Stichwortverzeichnis oder als eine graphische Übersicht (zum Beispiel der Abdeckung eines Gebietes mit Kartenblättern)	Staat in Südasien

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Index and Indien apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

Index

6 ch

Indien

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Index is [ˈɪndɛks] while Indien is [ˈɪndi̯ən]. 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 (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7387, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Index is recorded at frequency rank #4,127, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɪndɛks]. Indien is at rank #3,260, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈɪndi̯ən].

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 7387, this pair ranks #1,988,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Index vs Indien

Shared letters: dein. Private to "Index": x. Private to "Indien": -.

"Index" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Indien" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Index ← idnex · inddex · indexx · indxe · inedx · inndex · nidex
Indien ← idnien · inddien · indein · indienn · indine · iniden · inndien · nidien

Frequency comparison

Index#4,127

Indien#3,260

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Index" and "Indien" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Index" is a noun and "Indien" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Index" or "Indien"?

"Indien" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,260 in our German list, against #4,127 for "Index". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Index vs Indien

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Index”; for a name, it's “Indien”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Index” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable