indicarvsinvocarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,240
“indicar” frequency rank
#20,037
“invocar” frequency rank
24277
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature indicar invocar
Definition apontar, mostrar, revelar: pedir a alguém o auxílio de

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
indicar
7 ch
invocar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. indicar (/ĩ.di.ˈkaɾ/) and invocar (/ĩ.vu.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 24277, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

indicar is recorded at frequency rank #4,240, classified as averb, pronounced /ĩ.di.ˈkaɾ/. invocar is at rank #20,037, tagged as averb, pronounced /ĩ.vu.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 24277, this pair ranks #45,383 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of indicar vs invocar

Shared letters: acinr. Private to "indicar": d. Private to "invocar": ov.

"indicar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "invocar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indicaridnicar · indciar · inddicar · indiacr · indicarr · indiccar · indicra · inidcar
  • invocarinnvocar · inovcar · invcoar · invoacr · invocarr · invoccar · invocra · invvocar

Frequency comparison

indicar#4,240
invocar#20,037

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "indicar" and "invocar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ĩ.di.ˈkaɾ/ versus /ĩ.vu.ˈkaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "indicar" or "invocar"?
"indicar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,240 in our Portuguese list, against #20,037 for "invocar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering indicar vs invocar

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 “indicar” 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