tópicosvstóxicosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,750
“tópicos” frequency rank
#13,809
“tóxicos” frequency rank
29559
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tópicos tóxicos
Definition Forma del plural de tópico. Forma del masculino plural de tóxico.

Where the eye mixes tópicos and tóxicos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tópicos and tóxicos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
tópicos
7 ch
tóxicos

Why the eye confuses tópicos with tóxicos

A purely visual mix-up. tópicos ([ˈt̪opikos]) and tóxicos ([ˈt̪oksikos]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - p in “tópicos” becomes x in “tóxicos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tópicos is recorded at frequency rank #15,750, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪opikos]. tóxicos is at rank #13,809, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪oksikos].

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 29559, this pair ranks #216,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tópicos vs tóxicos

Shared letters: ciostó. Private to "tópicos": p. Private to "tóxicos": x.

"tópicos" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "tóxicos" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tópicos" and "tóxicos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪opikos] versus [ˈt̪oksikos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tópicos" or "tóxicos"?
"tóxicos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,809 in our Spanish list, against #15,750 for "tópicos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tópicos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tóxicos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #216,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tópicos" and "tóxicos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tópicos vs trópicos". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #216,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list