indemnevsindigneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“indemne” and “indigne” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#21,354
“indemne” frequency rank
#9,677
“indigne” frequency rank
31031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature indemne indigne
Definition Qui n’a pas éprouvé de perte, qui est indemnisé, dédommagé. Qui n’est pas digne de quelque chose.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set indemne and indigne apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
indemne
7 ch
indigne

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. indemne (\ɛ̃.dɛmn\) and indigne (\ɛ̃.diɲ\) 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 31031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

indemne is recorded at frequency rank #21,354, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.dɛmn\. indigne is at rank #9,677, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.diɲ\.

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 31031, this pair ranks #306,440 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of indemne vs indigne

Shared letters: dein. Private to "indemne": m. Private to "indigne": g.

"indemne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "indigne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indemneidnemne · inddemne · indemen · indemmne · indemnne · indenme · indmene · inedmne
  • indigneidnigne · inddigne · indgine · indigen · indiggne · indignne · indinge · inidgne

Frequency comparison

indemne#21,354
indigne#9,677

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "indemne" and "indigne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.dɛmn\ versus \ɛ̃.diɲ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "indemne" or "indigne"?
"indigne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,677 in our French list, against #21,354 for "indemne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering indemne vs indigne

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “indemne” 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