potência

/pu.ˈtẽ.sjɐ/

//pu.ˈtẽ.sjɐ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“potência” is a regularly-used Portuguese word, ranked #4,095 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,095
frequency rank, Portuguese
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - qualidade de potente

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

potência vs potencial
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for potência
PropertyValue
Headwordpotência
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pu.ˈtẽ.sjɐ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,095
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “potência” sits in Portuguese frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). potência lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for potência is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pu.ˈtẽ.sjɐ/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,095 in overall Portuguese word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for potência, with forms such as "optência", "potnêcia", and "pottência". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "potencial", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Portuguese form is potência, spelled P-O-T-Ê-N-C-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    qualidade de potente
  2. 2
    poderio
  3. 3
    poder
  4. 4
    força
  5. 5
    vigor sexual
  6. 6
    país forte economicamente e militarmente
  7. 7
    capacidade que a realidade material possui de se transformar ou ser transformada, isto é, de permutar entre as diferentes determinações que outrora eram apenas virtuais (por exemplo, a madeira possui a potência de ser uma porta)
  8. 8
    trabalho realizado ou energia transferida por unidade de tempo
  9. 9
    produto das distâncias de um ponto às intersecções de uma secante, traçada deste ponto, com uma circunferência
  10. 10
    cardinal de um conjunto
  11. 11
    número de vezes que um número ocorre como fator em uma potenciação (é indicado através de um expoente.)
  12. 12
    produto de n fatores iguais, o resultado da potenciação
  13. 13
    numa lente, quantidade definida pelo inverso da distância focal, expressa em dioptrias

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: optência,potnêcia,pottência,potêcnia,potêncai,potênccia,potênica,potênncia,poêtncia,ppotência,ptoência

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of potência - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

optência2potnêcia2pottência1potêcnia2potêncai2potênccia1potênica2potênncia1
Edit distance from "potência"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "potência"?
"potência" is spelled P-O-T-Ê-N-C-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /pu.ˈtẽ.sjɐ/.
What does "potência" mean?
As a noun, "potência" means: qualidade de potente
What words are commonly confused with "potência"?
"potência" is commonly confused with "potencial". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "potência"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "potência" is /pu.ˈtẽ.sjɐ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "potência" come from?
"potência" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “potência”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is P-O-T-Ê-N-C-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pu.ˈtẽ.sjɐ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “potencial” - see the side-by-side comparison. potência vs potencial
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

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