tomavstopoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“toma” and “topo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#869
“toma” frequency rank
#16,468
“topo” frequency rank
17337
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature toma topo
Definition Acción o efecto de tomar (recibir o encargarse de algo). (Talpidae) Cualquiera de varias decenas de especies de mamíferos insectívoros, similares a los roedores, que habitan bajo tierra, cavando túneles como madrigueras y para su desplazamiento.

Where the eye mixes toma and topo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
toma
4 ch
topo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. toma ([ˈt̪oma]) and topo ([ˈt̪opo]) 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 17337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

toma is recorded at frequency rank #869, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪oma]. topo is at rank #16,468, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪opo].

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 17337, this pair ranks #272,576 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of toma vs topo

Shared letters: ot. Private to "toma": am. Private to "topo": p.

"toma" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "topo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomaotma · tmoa · toam · tomma · ttoma
  • topootpo · toop · toppo · tpoo · ttopo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "toma" and "topo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪oma] versus [ˈt̪opo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "toma" or "topo"?
"toma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #869 in our Spanish list, against #16,468 for "topo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "toma" and "topo". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "toma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "topo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #272,576 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "toma" and "topo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "topo vs toys". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list