portière

\pɔʁ.tjɛʁ\

/\pɔʁ.tjɛʁ\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“portière” has 12 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #20,241. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,241
frequency rank, French
248,534
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Femme dont la profession est de garder une porte d’entrée.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

portière vs prière
75% similar
portière vs potier
63% similar
portière vs postier
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for portière
PropertyValue
Headwordportière
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɔʁ.tjɛʁ\
Letters8
Frequency rank#20,241
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “portière” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). portière lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around portière (IPA \pɔʁ.tjɛʁ\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,241 among 248,534 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for portière, with forms such as "oprtière", "poritère", and "porrtière". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "prière", "potier", "postier", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is portière, spelled P-O-R-T-I-È-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Femme dont la profession est de garder une porte d’entrée.
  2. 2
    Épouse d’un portier.
  3. 3
    Personne bavarde, souvent médisante.
  4. 4
    Religieuse qui a le soin d’ouvrir et de fermer la porte d’un couvent.
  5. 5
    Ouverture de la voiture, du wagon ou de l’avion par où l’on monte et l’on descend.
  6. 6
    Sorte de porte qui sert à fermer cette ouverture.
  7. 7
    Tenture qu’on met devant une porte, pour empêcher le vent ou par ornement.

Synonyms

tourièreconciergeporte

This word in other languages

doorwoman(English)Pförtnerin(Deutsch)porteira(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oprtière
  • poritère
  • porrtière
  • portiere
  • portirèe
  • portièer
  • portièrre
  • porttière
  • portèire
  • potrière
  • pportière
  • protière

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of portière - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

oprtière2poritère2porrtière1portiere1portirèe2portièer2portièrre1porttière1
Edit distance from "portière"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "portière"?
"portière" is spelled P-O-R-T-I-È-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pɔʁ.tjɛʁ\.
What does "portière" mean?
As a noun, "portière" means: Femme dont la profession est de garder une porte d’entrée.
What words are commonly confused with "portière"?
"portière" is commonly confused with "prière", "potier", "postier". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "portière"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "portière" is \pɔʁ.tjɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "portière" come from?
"portière" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “portière”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-R-T-I-È-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɔʁ.tjɛʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “prière” - see the side-by-side comparison. portière vs prière
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list