Which to use
“indexes” and “indices” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,111
- “indexes” frequency rank
- #16,943
- “indices” frequency rank
- 36054
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | indexes | indices |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of index | plural of index |
Where the eye mixes indexes and indices
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. indexes and indices follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between indexes and indices
A purely visual mix-up. indexes (/ˈɪndɛksɪz/) and indices (/ˈɪndɪsiːz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
indexes is recorded at frequency rank #19,111, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪndɛksɪz/. indices is at rank #16,943, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪndɪsiːz/.
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 36054, this pair ranks #306,569 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of indexes vs indices
Shared letters: deins. Private to "indexes": x. Private to "indices": c.
"indexes" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "indices" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "indexes" and "indices" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "indexes" or "indices"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "indexes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "indices" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,569 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "indexes" and "indices" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "indices vs indict". 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 #306,569 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.