tocovstópicoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: toco is a noun, tópico is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#8,064
“toco” frequency rank
#19,001
“tópico” frequency rank
27065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature toco tópico
Definition Nicho u hornacina rectangular muy usado en la arquitectura incaica. Se aplica a la opinión, idea o expresión que se usa y repite con mucha frecuencia, y no resulta original

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set toco and tópico apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
toco
6 ch
tópico

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: toco is [ˈt̪oko] while tópico is [ˈt̪opiko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

toco is recorded at frequency rank #8,064, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪oko]. tópico is at rank #19,001, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪opiko].

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 27065, this pair ranks #228,612 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of toco vs tópico

Shared letters: cot. Private to "toco": -. Private to "tópico": ipó.

"toco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "tópico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tocootco · tcoo · tocco · tooc · ttoco

Frequency comparison

toco#8,064
tópico#19,001

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "toco" and "tópico" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "toco" is a noun and "tópico" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "toco" or "tópico"?
"toco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,064 in our Spanish list, against #19,001 for "tópico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering toco vs tópico

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “toco”; for an adjective, it's “tópico”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “toco” 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