indicevsindigoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,337
“indice” frequency rank
#23,901
“indigo” frequency rank
27238
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature indice indigo
Definition Signe apparent et probable qu’une chose existe ou s'est produite. Substance colorante bleue que l’on extrait de l’indigotier ou que l’on fabrique par synthèse industrielle.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set indice and indigo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
indice
6 ch
indigo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. indice (\ɛ̃.dis\) and indigo (\ɛ̃.di.ɡo\) 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 27238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

indice is recorded at frequency rank #3,337, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.dis\. indigo is at rank #23,901, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.di.ɡo\.

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 27238, this pair ranks #330,248 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of indice vs indigo

Shared letters: din. Private to "indice": ce. Private to "indigo": go.

"indice" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "indigo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indiceidnice · indcie · inddice · indicce · indiec · inidce · inndice · nidice
  • indigoidnigo · inddigo · indgio · indiggo · indiog · inidgo · inndigo · nidigo

Frequency comparison

indice#3,337
indigo#23,901

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "indice" and "indigo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.dis\ versus \ɛ̃.di.ɡo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "indice" or "indigo"?
"indice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,337 in our French list, against #23,901 for "indigo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering indice vs indigo

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 “indice” 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