indigo

/ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/

//ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"indigo" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“indigo” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,366. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,366
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A purplish-blue color.

Corpus desk

Index EN-indigo · indigo · English

indigo · rank #19,366 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,366
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH incidental

Nearest frequency peer: incidental (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “indigo”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “indigo” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

indigo vs Indo
50% similar
indigo vs indio
83% similar
indigo vs Indira
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for indigo
PropertyValue
Headwordindigo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#19,366
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “indigo”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).indigolands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “incidental” (#19,365), “illustrious” (#19,364), “hypocritical” (#19,363). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “indigo” is #19,366. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around indigo (IPA /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,366 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for indigo, with forms such as "idnigo", "inddigo", and "indgio". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "Indo", "indio", "Indira", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 16th century (as indico, modern spelling from the 17th century), Spanish índigo, Portuguese endego (modern índigo), or Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”), from Ἰνδία (Indía). … The correct English form is indigo, spelled I-N-D-I-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A purplish-blue color.
  2. 2
    A greenish dark blue color; the color of indigo dye.
  3. 3
    A blue-colored dye obtained from certain plants (indigo plant or woad), or a similar synthetic dye.
  4. 4
    An indigo plant, such as from species in genera Indigofera, Amorpha (false indigo), Baptisia (wild indigo), and Psorothamnus and Dalea (indigo bush).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how indigo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity.

Etymology

16th century (as indico, modern spelling from the 17th century), Spanish índigo, Portuguese endego (modern índigo), or Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”), from Ἰνδία (Indía). Doublet of Indic.

This word in other languages

índigo(Español)indigo(Français)Indigo(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • idnigo
  • inddigo
  • indgio
  • indiggo
  • indiog
  • inidgo
  • inndigo
  • nidigo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of indigo - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

idnigo2inddigo1indgio2indiggo1indiog2inidgo2inndigo1nidigo2
Edit distance from "indigo"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "indigo"?
"indigo" is spelled I-N-D-I-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/.
What does "indigo" mean?
As a noun, "indigo" means: A purplish-blue color.
What words are commonly confused with "indigo"?
"indigo" is commonly confused with "Indo", "indio", "Indira". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "indigo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "indigo" is /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "indigo"?
16th century (as indico, modern spelling from the 17th century), Spanish índigo, Portuguese endego (modern índigo), or Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”), from Ἰνδία... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "indigo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Gunner#19,354goblin#19,353linger#19,382mammal#19,386

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

hydra8 variantsGillian8 variantsgarth8 variantsquarrel8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list