índicevsindicioTell them apart

Which to use

“índice” and “indicio” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,915
“índice” frequency rank
#15,396
“indicio” frequency rank
18311
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature índice indicio
Definition Dedo índice. Evidencia o dato que sirve como base para una inferencia

Where the eye mixes índice and indicio

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
índice
7 ch
indicio

Visual trap between índice and indicio

A purely visual mix-up. índice ([ˈĩn̪d̪ise]) and indicio ([ĩn̪ˈd̪isjo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18311, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

índice is recorded at frequency rank #2,915, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈĩn̪d̪ise]. indicio is at rank #15,396, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ĩn̪ˈd̪isjo].

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 18311, this pair ranks #268,433 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of índice vs indicio

Shared letters: cdin. Private to "índice": . Private to "indicio": o.

"índice" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "indicio" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indicioidnicio · indciio · inddicio · indiccio · indicoi · indiico · indisio · inidcio

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "índice" for "indicio" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈĩn̪d̪ise] versus [ĩn̪ˈd̪isjo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "índice" or "indicio" show up more?
"índice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,915 in our Spanish list, against #15,396 for "indicio". 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 "índice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "indicio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #268,433 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "índice" and "indicio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "idilio vs indicio". 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 #268,433 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list