Is USDC the same as ETH?

I'm curious about a question that's been bugging me for a while. Could you please clarify if USDC and ETH are interchangeable or essentially the same thing? As I understand, USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, providing stability and predictability in volatile crypto markets. On the other hand, ETH is the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, powering smart contracts and decentralized applications. However, I've heard some people use them interchangeably, and it's got me quite confused. Could you please explain the difference between the two, and why they shouldn't be treated as the same?