índicevsindioWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: índice is a noun, indio is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“índice” is a noun and “indio” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,915
“índice” frequency rank
#3,790
“indio” frequency rank
6705
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature índice indio
Definition Dedo índice. Originario, relativo a, o propio de la India o el Indostán en general.

Where the eye mixes índice and indio

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

6 ch
índice
5 ch
indio

Look-alike desk: índice vs indio

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: índice is [ˈĩn̪d̪ise] while indio is [ˈĩn̪d̪jo]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6705, 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]. indio is at rank #3,790, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈĩn̪d̪jo].

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 6705, this pair ranks #310,021 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of índice vs indio

Shared letters: din. Private to "índice": ceí. Private to "indio": o.

"índice" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "indio" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indioidnio · inddio · indoi · inido · inndio · nidio

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "índice" and "indio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "índice" is a noun and "indio" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "índice" or "indio" show up more?
"índice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,915 in our Spanish list, against #3,790 for "indio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "índice" and "indio" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "índice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "indio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #310,021 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "índice" and "indio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "indio vs Indira". 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 #310,021 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