Which to use
“incitar” and “indicar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,887
- “incitar” frequency rank
- #4,240
- “indicar” frequency rank
- 32127
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | incitar | indicar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | instigar | apontar, mostrar, revelar: |
Where the eye mixes incitar and indicar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. incitar and indicar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between incitar and indicar
A purely visual mix-up. incitar (/ĩ.si.ˈtaɾ/) and indicar (/ĩ.di.ˈkaɾ/) 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 32127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
incitar is recorded at frequency rank #27,887, classified as averb, pronounced /ĩ.si.ˈtaɾ/. indicar is at rank #4,240, tagged as averb, pronounced /ĩ.di.ˈkaɾ/.
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 32127, this pair ranks #35,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of incitar vs indicar
Shared letters: acinr. Private to "incitar": t. Private to "indicar": d.
"incitar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "indicar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "incitar" and "indicar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "incitar" vs "indicar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "incitar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "indicar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "incitar" and "indicar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inchar vs incitar". 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 #35,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.