índicevsindícioTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,814
“índice” frequency rank
#19,758
“indício” frequency rank
22572
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature índice indício
Definition quadro indicativo dos assuntos tratados num livro vestígio, laivo

Where the eye mixes índice and indício

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
índice
7 ch
indício

Visual trap between índice and indício

A purely visual mix-up. índice (/ˈin.ʤi.si/) and indício (/ĩ.ˈdi.sju/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

índice is recorded at frequency rank #2,814, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈin.ʤi.si/. indício is at rank #19,758, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ĩ.ˈdi.sju/.

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 22572, this pair ranks #47,451 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of índice vs indício

Shared letters: cdiní. Private to "índice": e. Private to "indício": o.

"índice" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "indício" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "índice" for "indício" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈin.ʤi.si/ versus /ĩ.ˈdi.sju/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "índice" or "indício" show up more?
"índice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,814 in our Portuguese list, against #19,758 for "indício". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "índice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "indício" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #47,451 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "índice" and "indício" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "indeciso vs indício". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #47,451 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