IndianvsíndiceTell them apart

Quick tell: Indian is a adjective, índice is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#18,618
“Indian” frequency rank
#2,814
“índice” frequency rank
21432
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Indian índice
Definition relativo aos índios americanos quadro indicativo dos assuntos tratados num livro

Where the eye mixes Indian and índice

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Indian (VCCVVC) and índice (VCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Indian
6 ch
índice

Look-alike desk: Indian vs índice

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Indian is /ˈɪndiən/ while índice is /ˈin.ʤi.si/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21432, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Indian is recorded at frequency rank #18,618, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɪndiən/. índice is at rank #2,814, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈin.ʤi.si/.

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 21432, this pair ranks #48,834 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Indian vs índice

Shared letters: din. Private to "Indian": a. Private to "índice": ceí.

"Indian" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC  ·  "índice" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Indian ← idnian · indain · inddian · indiann · indina · inidan · inndian · nidian

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Indian" for "índice" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Indian" is an adjective and "índice" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Indian" or "índice"?
"índice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,814 in our Portuguese list, against #18,618 for "Indian". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Indian" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "índice" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #48,834 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Indian" and "índice" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inda vs Indian". 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 #48,834 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list