diff --git a/config/allconfig/allconfig.go b/config/allconfig/allconfig.go
index 9079e2ce3..2dc409be7 100644
--- a/config/allconfig/allconfig.go
+++ b/config/allconfig/allconfig.go
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	Minify minifiers.MinifyConfig `mapstructure:"-"`
 
 	// Permalink configuration.
-	Permalinks map[string]string `mapstructure:"-"`
+	Permalinks map[string]map[string]string `mapstructure:"-"`
 
 	// Taxonomy configuration.
 	Taxonomies map[string]string `mapstructure:"-"`
diff --git a/config/allconfig/alldecoders.go b/config/allconfig/alldecoders.go
index 1c8573f3d..4d9ef4f85 100644
--- a/config/allconfig/alldecoders.go
+++ b/config/allconfig/alldecoders.go
@@ -206,7 +206,48 @@ var allDecoderSetups = map[string]decodeWeight{
 	"permalinks": {
 		key: "permalinks",
 		decode: func(d decodeWeight, p decodeConfig) error {
-			p.c.Permalinks = maps.CleanConfigStringMapString(p.p.GetStringMapString(d.key))
+			p.c.Permalinks = make(map[string]map[string]string)
+
+			p.c.Permalinks["page"] = make(map[string]string)
+			p.c.Permalinks["section"] = make(map[string]string)
+			p.c.Permalinks["taxonomy"] = make(map[string]string)
+			p.c.Permalinks["term"] = make(map[string]string)
+
+			config := maps.CleanConfigStringMap(p.p.GetStringMap(d.key))
+			for k, v := range config {
+				switch v := v.(type) {
+				case string:
+					// [permalinks]
+					//   key = '...'
+
+					// To sucessfully be backward compatible, "default" patterns need to be set for both page and term
+					p.c.Permalinks["page"][k] = v;
+					p.c.Permalinks["term"][k] = v;
+				
+				case maps.Params:
+					// [permalinks.key]
+					//   xyz = ???
+
+					if (k == "page") || (k == "section") || (k == "taxonomy") || (k == "term") {
+						// TODO: warn if we overwrite an already set value
+						for k2, v2 := range v {
+							switch v2 := v2.(type) {
+							case string:
+								p.c.Permalinks[k][k2] = v2
+							
+							default:
+								return fmt.Errorf("permalinks configuration invalid: unknown value %q for key %q for kind %q", v2, k2, k)
+							}
+						}
+					} else {
+						return fmt.Errorf("permalinks configuration only allows per-kind configuration 'page', 'section', 'taxonomy' and 'term'; unknown kind: %q", k)
+					}
+
+				default:
+					return fmt.Errorf("permalinks configuration invalid: unknown value %q for key %q", v, k)
+				}
+			}
+
 			return nil
 		},
 	},
diff --git a/hugofs/files/classifier.go b/hugofs/files/classifier.go
index 09b239c21..5690795ed 100644
--- a/hugofs/files/classifier.go
+++ b/hugofs/files/classifier.go
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ const (
 	ContentClassBranch  ContentClass = "branch"
 	ContentClassFile    ContentClass = "zfile" // Sort below
 	ContentClassContent ContentClass = "zcontent"
+	ContentClassZero    ContentClass = "zero"  // Special value for zeroFile
 )
 
 func (c ContentClass) IsBundle() bool {
diff --git a/hugolib/page__paths.go b/hugolib/page__paths.go
index 72eac3182..f98531c10 100644
--- a/hugolib/page__paths.go
+++ b/hugolib/page__paths.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/helpers"
+	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/hugofs/files"
 
 	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/resources/page"
 )
@@ -108,14 +109,16 @@ func createTargetPathDescriptor(s *Site, p page.Page, pm *pageMeta) (page.Target
 	)
 
 	d := s.Deps
+	classifier := files.ContentClassZero
 
 	if !p.File().IsZero() {
 		dir = p.File().Dir()
 		baseName = p.File().TranslationBaseName()
 		contentBaseName = p.File().ContentBaseName()
+		classifier = p.File().Classifier()
 	}
 
-	if baseName != contentBaseName {
+	if classifier == files.ContentClassLeaf {
 		// See https://github.com/gohugoio/hugo/issues/4870
 		// A leaf bundle
 		dir = strings.TrimSuffix(dir, contentBaseName+helpers.FilePathSeparator)
@@ -143,22 +146,26 @@ func createTargetPathDescriptor(s *Site, p page.Page, pm *pageMeta) (page.Target
 	desc.PrefixFilePath = s.getLanguageTargetPathLang(alwaysInSubDir)
 	desc.PrefixLink = s.getLanguagePermalinkLang(alwaysInSubDir)
 
-	// Expand only page.KindPage and page.KindTaxonomy; don't expand other Kinds of Pages
-	// like page.KindSection or page.KindTaxonomyTerm because they are "shallower" and
-	// the permalink configuration values are likely to be redundant, e.g.
-	// naively expanding /category/:slug/ would give /category/categories/ for
-	// the "categories" page.KindTaxonomyTerm.
-	if p.Kind() == page.KindPage || p.Kind() == page.KindTerm {
-		opath, err := d.ResourceSpec.Permalinks.Expand(p.Section(), p)
-		if err != nil {
-			return desc, err
+	opath, err := d.ResourceSpec.Permalinks.Expand(p.Section(), p)
+	if err != nil {
+		return desc, err
+	}
+
+	if opath != "" {
+		opath, _ = url.QueryUnescape(opath)
+		if strings.HasSuffix(opath, "//") {
+			// When rewriting the _index of the section the permalink config is applied to,
+			// we get douple slashes at the end sometimes; clear them up here
+			opath = strings.TrimSuffix(opath, "/")
 		}
 
-		if opath != "" {
-			opath, _ = url.QueryUnescape(opath)
-			desc.ExpandedPermalink = opath
-		}
+		desc.ExpandedPermalink = opath
 
+		if !p.File().IsZero() {
+			s.Log.Debugf("Set expanded permalink path for %s %s to %#v", p.Kind(), p.File().Path(), opath)
+		} else {
+			s.Log.Debugf("Set expanded permalink path for %s in %v to %#v", p.Kind(), desc.Sections, opath)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return desc, nil
diff --git a/resources/page/page_generate/generate_page_wrappers.go b/resources/page/page_generate/generate_page_wrappers.go
index f4b40f717..c034bc002 100644
--- a/resources/page/page_generate/generate_page_wrappers.go
+++ b/resources/page/page_generate/generate_page_wrappers.go
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ func generateFileIsZeroWrappers(c *codegen.Inspector) error {
 	methods := c.MethodsFromTypes([]reflect.Type{reflect.TypeOf((*source.File)(nil)).Elem()}, nil)
 
 	for _, m := range methods {
-		if m.Name == "IsZero" {
+		if m.Name == "IsZero" || m.Name == "Classifier" {
 			continue
 		}
 		fmt.Fprint(&buff, m.DeclarationNamed("zeroFile"))
@@ -255,6 +255,11 @@ func (zeroFile) IsZero() bool {
 	return true
 }
 
+func (z zeroFile) Classifier() files.ContentClass {
+	z.log.Warnln(".File.Classifier on zero object. Wrap it in if or with: {{ with .File }}{{ .Classifier }}{{ end }}")
+	return files.ContentClassZero
+}
+
 %s
 
 `, header, importsString(pkgImports), buff.String())
diff --git a/resources/page/permalinks.go b/resources/page/permalinks.go
index 3dfc36937..ab418a20b 100644
--- a/resources/page/permalinks.go
+++ b/resources/page/permalinks.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 
 	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/helpers"
+
 )
 
 // PermalinkExpander holds permalin mappings per section.
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ type PermalinkExpander struct {
 	// to be used to replace that tag.
 	knownPermalinkAttributes map[string]pageToPermaAttribute
 
-	expanders map[string]func(Page) (string, error)
+	expanders map[string]map[string]func(Page) (string, error)
 
 	urlize func(uri string) string
 }
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ func (p PermalinkExpander) callback(attr string) (pageToPermaAttribute, bool) {
 
 // NewPermalinkExpander creates a new PermalinkExpander configured by the given
 // urlize func.
-func NewPermalinkExpander(urlize func(uri string) string, patterns map[string]string) (PermalinkExpander, error) {
+func NewPermalinkExpander(urlize func(uri string) string, patterns map[string]map[string]string) (PermalinkExpander, error) {
 	p := PermalinkExpander{urlize: urlize}
 
 	p.knownPermalinkAttributes = map[string]pageToPermaAttribute{
@@ -87,12 +88,15 @@ func NewPermalinkExpander(urlize func(uri string) string, patterns map[string]st
 		"filename":       p.pageToPermalinkFilename,
 	}
 
-	e, err := p.parse(patterns)
-	if err != nil {
-		return p, err
-	}
+	p.expanders = make(map[string]map[string]func(Page) (string, error))
 
-	p.expanders = e
+	for kind, patterns := range patterns {
+		e, err := p.parse(patterns)
+		if err != nil {
+			return p, err
+		}
+		p.expanders[kind] = e
+	}
 
 	return p, nil
 }
@@ -100,7 +104,13 @@ func NewPermalinkExpander(urlize func(uri string) string, patterns map[string]st
 // Expand expands the path in p according to the rules defined for the given key.
 // If no rules are found for the given key, an empty string is returned.
 func (l PermalinkExpander) Expand(key string, p Page) (string, error) {
-	expand, found := l.expanders[key]
+	expanders, found := l.expanders[p.Kind()]
+
+	if !found {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+
+	expand, found := expanders[key]
 
 	if !found {
 		return "", nil
@@ -242,6 +252,10 @@ func (l PermalinkExpander) pageToPermalinkDate(p Page, dateField string) (string
 
 // pageToPermalinkTitle returns the URL-safe form of the title
 func (l PermalinkExpander) pageToPermalinkTitle(p Page, _ string) (string, error) {
+	if p.File().TranslationBaseName() == "_index" {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+
 	return l.urlize(p.Title()), nil
 }
 
@@ -252,6 +266,8 @@ func (l PermalinkExpander) pageToPermalinkFilename(p Page, _ string) (string, er
 		// Page bundles; the directory name will hopefully have a better name.
 		dir := strings.TrimSuffix(p.File().Dir(), helpers.FilePathSeparator)
 		_, name = filepath.Split(dir)
+	} else if name == "_index" {
+		return "", nil
 	}
 
 	return l.urlize(name), nil
diff --git a/resources/page/permalinks_test.go b/resources/page/permalinks_test.go
index b9c0ca9cb..24eb27f5b 100644
--- a/resources/page/permalinks_test.go
+++ b/resources/page/permalinks_test.go
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ func TestPermalinkExpansion(t *testing.T) {
 	page.date = d
 	page.section = "blue"
 	page.slug = "The Slug"
+	page.kind = "page"
 
 	for _, item := range testdataPermalinks {
 		if !item.valid {
@@ -79,8 +80,10 @@ func TestPermalinkExpansion(t *testing.T) {
 		name := specNameCleaner.ReplaceAllString(item.spec, "")
 
 		c.Run(name, func(c *qt.C) {
-			patterns := map[string]string{
-				"posts": item.spec,
+			patterns := map[string]map[string]string{
+				"page": {
+					"posts": item.spec,
+				},
 			}
 			expander, err := NewPermalinkExpander(urlize, patterns)
 			c.Assert(err, qt.IsNil)
@@ -103,14 +106,18 @@ func TestPermalinkExpansionMultiSection(t *testing.T) {
 	page.date = d
 	page.section = "blue"
 	page.slug = "The Slug"
+	page.kind = "page"
 
 	page_slug_fallback := newTestPageWithFile("/page-filename/index.md")
 	page_slug_fallback.title = "Page Title"
+	page_slug_fallback.kind = "page"
 
-	permalinksConfig := map[string]string{
-		"posts":   "/:slug",
-		"blog":    "/:section/:year",
-		"recipes": "/:slugorfilename",
+	permalinksConfig := map[string]map[string]string{
+		"page": {
+			"posts":   "/:slug",
+			"blog":    "/:section/:year",
+			"recipes": "/:slugorfilename",
+		},
 	}
 	expander, err := NewPermalinkExpander(urlize, permalinksConfig)
 	c.Assert(err, qt.IsNil)
@@ -137,8 +144,10 @@ func TestPermalinkExpansionConcurrent(t *testing.T) {
 
 	c := qt.New(t)
 
-	permalinksConfig := map[string]string{
-		"posts": "/:slug/",
+	permalinksConfig := map[string]map[string]string{
+		"page": {
+			"posts": "/:slug/",
+		},
 	}
 
 	expander, err := NewPermalinkExpander(urlize, permalinksConfig)
@@ -151,6 +160,7 @@ func TestPermalinkExpansionConcurrent(t *testing.T) {
 		go func(i int) {
 			defer wg.Done()
 			page := newTestPage()
+			page.kind = "page"
 			for j := 1; j < 20; j++ {
 				page.slug = fmt.Sprintf("slug%d", i+j)
 				expanded, err := expander.Expand("posts", page)
@@ -209,9 +219,12 @@ func BenchmarkPermalinkExpand(b *testing.B) {
 	page.title = "Hugo Rocks"
 	d, _ := time.Parse("2006-01-02", "2019-02-28")
 	page.date = d
+	page.kind = "page"
 
-	permalinksConfig := map[string]string{
-		"posts": "/:year-:month-:title",
+	permalinksConfig := map[string]map[string]string{
+		"page": {
+			"posts": "/:year-:month-:title",
+		},
 	}
 	expander, err := NewPermalinkExpander(urlize, permalinksConfig)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/resources/page/zero_file.autogen.go b/resources/page/zero_file.autogen.go
index 72d98998e..979f92a0f 100644
--- a/resources/page/zero_file.autogen.go
+++ b/resources/page/zero_file.autogen.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package page
 import (
 	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/common/loggers"
 	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/hugofs"
+	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/hugofs/files"
 	"github.com/gohugoio/hugo/source"
 )
 
@@ -34,6 +35,11 @@ func (zeroFile) IsZero() bool {
 	return true
 }
 
+func (z zeroFile) Classifier() files.ContentClass {
+	z.log.Warnln(".File.Classifier on zero object. Wrap it in if or with: {{ with .File }}{{ .Classifier }}{{ end }}")
+	return files.ContentClassZero
+}
+
 func (z zeroFile) Path() (o0 string) {
 	z.log.Warnln(".File.Path on zero object. Wrap it in if or with: {{ with .File }}{{ .Path }}{{ end }}")
 	return
diff --git a/source/fileInfo.go b/source/fileInfo.go
index c58a0c3b9..03bb1b16c 100644
--- a/source/fileInfo.go
+++ b/source/fileInfo.go
@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ type FileWithoutOverlap interface {
 	// if file is a leaf bundle.
 	ContentBaseName() string
 
+	// Classifier is the ContentClass of the file
+	Classifier() files.ContentClass
+
 	// UniqueID is the MD5 hash of the file's path and is for most practical applications,
 	// Hugo content files being one of them, considered to be unique.
 	UniqueID() string
@@ -170,6 +173,11 @@ func (fi *FileInfo) ContentBaseName() string {
 	return fi.contentBaseName
 }
 
+// Classifier is the ContentClass of the file
+func (fi *FileInfo) Classifier() files.ContentClass {
+	return fi.classifier;
+}
+
 // Section returns a file's section.
 func (fi *FileInfo) Section() string {
 	fi.init()