Portion or potion?
portion is a noun meaning “An allocated amount”; potion is a noun meaning “A small portion or dose of a liquid which is medicinal, poisonous, or magical”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) portion is about 16 times as common as potion.
What is the difference between portion and potion?
| portion | potion | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | An allocated amount That which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything To divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes | A small portion or dose of a liquid which is medicinal, poisonous, or magical |
| Example | none recorded | He hoped to win the princess's heart by mixing the love potion the witch gave him into her drink |
| Forms | portions | potions |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpoɹʃən/ /ˈpɔːʃən/ /ˈpoːʃən/ | /ˈpəʊ.ʃən/ /ˈpoʊ.ʃən/ /poːʃən/ |
| In writing | 34 times per million words | 2.1 times per million words |
Sources: portion and potion in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of portion and potion
portion
- 1
An allocated amount
- 2
To divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes
- 3
That which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything
- 4
To endow with a portion or inheritance
- 5
One's fate; lot
- 6
The part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir; an inheritance
- 7
A wife's fortune; a dowry
potion
- 1
A small portion or dose of a liquid which is medicinal, poisonous, or magical
He hoped to win the princess's heart by mixing the love potion the witch gave him into her drink
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, portion or potion?
portion appears 34 times per million words; potion 2.1 times per million words.
portion 34 times per million wordspotion 2.1 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).