Which to use
“patins” and “potions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,643
- “patins” frequency rank
- #36,105
- “potions” frequency rank
- 58748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patins | potions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de patin. | Pluriel de potion. |
Where the eye mixes patins and potions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. patins runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against potions's 7 (CVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: patins vs potions
A purely visual mix-up. patins (\pa.tɛ̃\) and potions (\pɔ.sjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patins is recorded at frequency rank #22,643, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.tɛ̃\. potions is at rank #36,105, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.sjɔ̃\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 58748, this pair ranks #107,159 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of patins vs potions
Shared letters: inpst. Private to "patins": a. Private to "potions": o.
"patins" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "potions" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "patins" and "potions" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "patins" or "potions"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "patins" and "potions" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "potions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #107,159 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patins" and "potions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "potiers vs potions". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #107,159 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.