Which to use
“potins” and “potion” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,124
- “potins” frequency rank
- #20,243
- “potion” frequency rank
- 52367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | potins | potion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de potin. | Remède liquide, que l’on administre généralement par cuillerées. |
Where the eye mixes potins and potion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. potins (CVCVCC) and potion (CVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between potins and potion
A purely visual mix-up. potins (\pɔ.tɛ̃\) 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 52367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
potins is recorded at frequency rank #32,124, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.tɛ̃\. 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 52367, this pair ranks #148,215 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of potins vs potion
Shared letters: inopt. Private to "potins": s. Private to "potion": -.
"potins" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "potion" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "potins" and "potion" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "potins" or "potion" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "potins" 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 #148,215 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "potins" and "potion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "potiers vs potins". 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 #148,215 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.