índio vs íntimo, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#7,719
“índio” frequency rank: #9,282
“íntimo” frequency rank: 17001
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	índio	íntimo
Definition	pertencente ou relativo aos índios	muito interno

Letter map: índio vs íntimo

Shared letters muted; letters that set índio and íntimo apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

5 ch

índio

6 ch

íntimo

Pair insight - índio / íntimo

índio and íntimo are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

índio is recorded at frequency rank #7,719, classified as anadj. íntimo is at rank #9,282, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈĩ.ti.mu/.

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 17001, this pair ranks #54,361 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of índio vs íntimo

Shared letters: inoí. Private to "índio": d. Private to "íntimo": mt.

"índio" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "íntimo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "índio" and "íntimo" be used interchangeably?

No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Frequency check: "índio" vs "íntimo" - which ranks higher?

"índio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,719 in our Portuguese list, against #9,282 for "íntimo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "índio" and "íntimo".

Full dictionary entry for "índio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "íntimo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #54,361 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"índio" and "íntimo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "índio vs ino". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #54,361 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.