Which to use
“pote” and “pute” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,294
- “pote” frequency rank
- #3,284
- “pute” frequency rank
- 5578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pote | pute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Copain (copine), ami(e). | Prostituée. |
Where the eye mixes pote and pute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pote and pute
A purely visual mix-up. pote (\pɔt\) and pute (\pyt\) 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 a single letter - o in “pote” becomes u in “pute”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pote is recorded at frequency rank #2,294, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔt\. pute is at rank #3,284, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pyt\.
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 5578, this pair ranks #428,613 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pote vs pute
Shared letters: ept. Private to "pote": o. Private to "pute": u.
"pote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pote" and "pute" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pote" or "pute"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pote" and "pute" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #428,613 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pote" and "pute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pontet vs pote". 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 #428,613 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.