Which to use
“patron” and “potion” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,710
- “patron” frequency rank
- #20,243
- “potion” frequency rank
- 21953
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patron | potion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Patricien ou riche plébéien de la Rome antique, qui accordait sa protection à des citoyens plus pauvres constituant sa clientèle. | Remède liquide, que l’on administre généralement par cuillerées. |
Where the eye mixes patron and potion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses patron with potion
A purely visual mix-up. patron (\pa.tʁɔ̃\) and potion (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21953, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patron is recorded at frequency rank #1,710, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.tʁɔ̃\. potion is at rank #20,243, 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 21953, this pair ranks #360,549 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of patron vs potion
Shared letters: nopt. Private to "patron": ar. Private to "potion": i.
"patron" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "potion" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "patron" and "potion" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "patron" vs "potion" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "patron" and "potion" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patron" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "potion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #360,549 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patron" and "potion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "potion vs potiron". 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 #360,549 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.