Which to use
“top” is an adjective and “topic” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,027
- “top” frequency rank
- #18,405
- “topic” frequency rank
- 21432
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | top | topic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dicho de una cosa: de alto nivel, principal, que tiene el primer lugar de estimación o importancia. | Tema. |
Where the eye mixes top and topic
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: top vs topic
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: top is [ˈt̪op] while topic is /ˈtɒp.ɪk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “top” sits inside “topic”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21432, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
top is recorded at frequency rank #3,027, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪op]. topic is at rank #18,405, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɒp.ɪk/.
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 21432, this pair ranks #254,962 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of top vs topic
Shared letters: opt. Private to "top": -. Private to "topic": ci.
"top" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "topic" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- topic ← otpic · toipc · topci · topicc · toppic · tpoic · ttopic
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "top" for "topic" ever safe?
Frequency check: "top" vs "topic" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "top" and "topic" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "top" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "topic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,962 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "top" and "topic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tónico vs topic". 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
Confusion rank #254,962 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.