pot

\po\

/\po\/ noun

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

The verdict

“pot” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,954 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,954
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Vase de terre, verre, métal, plastique ou autre matière servant à divers usages.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pot vs pu
33% similar
pot vs PS
0% similar
pot vs PQ
0% similar

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

Key facts for pot
PropertyValue
Headwordpot
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\po\
Letters3
Frequency rank#3,954
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pot” 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). pot lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for pot is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \po\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,954 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

pot has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pu", "PS", "PQ", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is pot, spelled P-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Vase de terre, verre, métal, plastique ou autre matière servant à divers usages.
  2. 2
    Vase de terre, verre, métal, plastique ou autre matière servant à divers usages.
  3. 3
    Vase de terre, verre, métal, plastique ou autre matière servant à divers usages.
  4. 4
    Ornement représentant un vase d’où sortent des flammes.
  5. 5
    Marmite où l’on met bouillir la viande.
  6. 6
    Petite collation entre collègues ou amis.
  7. 7
    Chance.
  8. 8
    Pot de chambre.
  9. 9
    Bouteille et quantité de vin de 0,46 litre.
  10. 10
    Mesure de capacité en usage dans de nombreux pays européens avant le système métrique.
  11. 11
    Nom régional des dolines, par analogie de forme.
  12. 12
    Format français de papier, de 31 cm sur 40 cm.
  13. 13
    Dans le jeu des quatre coins, le pot est le cinquième joueur qui se trouve au milieu et cherche à prendre la place de l'un des quatre autres joueurs lors de son déplacement d'un coin à l'autre. — (Jean Félicissime Aldry, Dictionnaire des jeux de l'enfance et de la jeunesse chez tous les peuples, Chez Barbou, rue des Mathurins, 1807)

Synonyms

chopineécolier

This word in other languages

pot(English)pote(Español)Topf(Deutsch)pote(Português)

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 "pot"?
"pot" is spelled P-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is \po\.
What does "pot" mean?
As a noun, "pot" means: Vase de terre, verre, métal, plastique ou autre matière servant à divers usages.
What words are commonly confused with "pot"?
"pot" is commonly confused with "pu", "PS", "PQ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pot" is \po\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pot" come from?
"pot" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “pot”

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

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