Subject vs Topic
Subject and Topic are two words that are often confused when it comes to their meanings and connotations when actually there is some difference between the two words. The word subject is usually used in the sense of ‘niche’ or ‘branch of knowledge’. On the other hand, the word topic is used in the sense of ‘title’ or ‘the aspect chosen in the subject’. Thus, it can be said that the word topic is the subset of the word subject. This is the main difference between the two words, subject and topic. This difference with other usages of the two words subject and topic is discussed in this article.
What is a Subject?
The word subject is a noun which is used in the sense of ‘niche’ or ‘branch of knowledge.’ Observe the two sentences given below:
She knew the subject very well.
He could write on any subject.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word subject is used in the sense of ‘branch of knowledge’ or ‘niche’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘she knew the branch of knowledge very well’. In the same way, the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘he could write on any niche’. A subject refers to a vast area of a branch of study. A topic is only a part of it. Also, apart from being used as a noun, subject is also used as an adjective, verb and an adverb.
What is a Topic?
The word topic is also a noun like the word subject. However, the word topic is used in the sense of ‘title’ or ‘the aspect chosen in the subject.’ Keeping that in mind, observe the two sentences given below:
She could not understand the topic spoken by the speaker.
What was your topic for research?
In both the sentences, you can find that the word ‘topic’ is used in the sense of ‘title’ or ‘the aspect chosen in the subject’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘she could not understand the aspect chosen in the subject spoken by the speaker’. The meaning of the second sentence would be ‘what was the aspect of the subject chosen for research?’
While a subject refers to a vast area of a branch of study, a topic normally concentrates on a particular area of a given subject.
What is the difference between Subject and Topic?
• The word subject is usually used in the sense of ‘niche’ or ‘branch of knowledge’.
• On the other hand, the word topic is used in the sense of ‘title’ or ‘the aspect chosen in the subject’.
• Due to this, one can say that the word topic is the subset of the word subject.
• A topic normally concentrates on a particular area of a given subject.
• On the other hand, a subject refers to a vast area of a branch of study.
These are the differences between subject and topic.