IndexvsinnerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Index is a noun, inner is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#4,127
“Index” frequency rank
#17,331
“inner” frequency rank
21458
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes Index and inner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Index
5 ch
inner

Visual trap between Index and inner

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Index is [ˈɪndɛks] while inner is [ˈɪnɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21458, 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]. inner is at rank #17,331, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈɪnɐ].

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 21458, this pair ranks #1,886,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Index vs inner

Shared letters: ein. Private to "Index": dx. Private to "inner": r.

"Index" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "inner" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Indexidnex · inddex · indexx · indxe · inedx · inndex · nidex
  • innerinenr · iner · innerr · innre · niner

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Index" for "inner" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Index" is a noun and "inner" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Index" vs "inner" - which ranks higher?
"Index" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,127 in our German list, against #17,331 for "inner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Index" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "inner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,886,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Index" and "inner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inner vs innig". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,886,025 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list