tomvstopoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,262
“tom” frequency rank
#2,450
“topo” frequency rank
3712
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tom topo
Definition qualquer som, no que se refere à sua amplitude, fonte, potência, etc.: ápice, cume, ponto mais elevado

Where the eye mixes tom and topo

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

3 ch
tom
4 ch
topo

Why the eye confuses tom with topo

A purely visual mix-up. tom (/ˈtõ/) and topo (/ˈto.pu/) 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 3712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tom is recorded at frequency rank #1,262, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtõ/. topo is at rank #2,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈto.pu/.

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 3712, this pair ranks #71,378 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tom vs topo

Shared letters: ot. Private to "tom": m. Private to "topo": p.

"tom" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "topo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • topootpo · toop · toppo · tpoo · ttopo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tom" and "topo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈtõ/ versus /ˈto.pu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tom" vs "topo" - which ranks higher?
"tom" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,262 in our Portuguese list, against #2,450 for "topo". 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 "tom" 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 #71,378 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tom" and "topo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "topo vs tufo". 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 #71,378 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list