idéevsindexéWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#354
“idée” frequency rank
#43,498
“indexé” frequency rank
43852
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature idée indexé
Definition Suggestion. Qui fait l’objet d’une indexation.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set idée and indexé apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
idée
6 ch
indexé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: idée is \i.de\ while indexé is \ɛ̃.dɛ.kse\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 43852, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

idée is recorded at frequency rank #354, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.de\. indexé is at rank #43,498, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.dɛ.kse\.

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 43852, this pair ranks #214,890 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of idée vs indexé

Shared letters: deié. Private to "idée": -. Private to "indexé": nx.

"idée" · 4 letters · shape VCVV  ·  "indexé" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Frequency comparison

idée#354
indexé#43,498

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "idée" and "indexé" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "idée" is a noun and "indexé" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "idée" or "indexé"?
"idée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #354 in our French list, against #43,498 for "indexé". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering idée vs indexé

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “idée”; for an adjective, it's “indexé”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “idée” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list