topsvstypesConfusable pair

Which to use

“tops” and “types” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,411
“tops” frequency rank
#1,687
“types” frequency rank
26098
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tops types
Definition Pluriel de top. Pluriel de type.

Where the eye mixes tops and types

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
tops
5 ch
types

Look-alike desk: tops vs types

A purely visual mix-up. tops (\tɔp\) and types (\tip\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26098, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tops is recorded at frequency rank #24,411, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɔp\. types is at rank #1,687, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tip\.

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 26098, this pair ranks #337,125 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tops vs types

Shared letters: pst. Private to "tops": o. Private to "types": ey.

"tops" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "types" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • topsotps · topps · topss · tosp · tpos · ttops
  • typestpyes · ttypes · tyeps · typess · typpes · typse · tyypes · ytpes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tops" for "types" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\tɔp\ versus \tip\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tops" vs "types" - which ranks higher?
"types" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,687 in our French list, against #24,411 for "tops". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tops" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "types" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #337,125 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tops" and "types" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tops vs trips". 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 #337,125 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list