potiervspotinsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“potier” and “potins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,748
“potier” frequency rank
#32,124
“potins” frequency rank
62872
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature potier potins
Definition Artisan qui fait, qui vend des pots et de la vaisselle de terre. Pluriel de potin.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set potier and potins apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
potier
6 ch
potins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. potier (\pɔ.tje\) and potins (\pɔ.tɛ̃\) 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 62872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

potier is recorded at frequency rank #30,748, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.tje\. potins is at rank #32,124, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.tɛ̃\.

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 62872, this pair ranks #84,812 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of potier vs potins

Shared letters: iopt. Private to "potier": er. Private to "potins": ns.

"potier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "potins" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • potieroptier · poiter · poteir · potierr · potire · pottier · ppotier · ptoier
  • potinsoptins · potinns · potinss · potisn · potnis · pottins · ppotins · ptoins

Frequency comparison

potier#30,748
potins#32,124

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "potier" and "potins" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɔ.tje\ versus \pɔ.tɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "potier" or "potins"?
"potier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,748 in our French list, against #32,124 for "potins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering potier vs potins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “potier” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

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