indagarvsindicarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“indagar” and “indicar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#37,853
“indagar” frequency rank
#4,240
“indicar” frequency rank
42093
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature indagar indicar
Definition procurar descobrir apontar, mostrar, revelar:

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
indagar
7 ch
indicar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. indagar (/ĩ.dɐ.ˈɡaɾ/) 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 42093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

indagar is recorded at frequency rank #37,853, classified as averb, pronounced /ĩ.dɐ.ˈɡaɾ/. 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 42093, this pair ranks #23,732 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of indagar vs indicar

Shared letters: adinr. Private to "indagar": g. Private to "indicar": c.

"indagar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "indicar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indagaridnagar · inadgar · indaagr · indagarr · indaggar · indagra · inddagar · indgaar
  • indicaridnicar · indciar · inddicar · indiacr · indicarr · indiccar · indicra · inidcar

Frequency comparison

indagar#37,853
indicar#4,240

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "indagar" and "indicar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ĩ.dɐ.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /ĩ.di.ˈkaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "indagar" or "indicar"?
"indicar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,240 in our Portuguese list, against #37,853 for "indagar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering indagar vs indicar

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 “indagar” 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