The internet’s most famous spelling debate isn’t “your vs you’re” — it’s “potatos or potatoes.” Every day, thousands of people type this exact question into Google because they suddenly doubt themselves mid-sentence.
Is the plural “potatos” with no “e,” or “potatoes” with an “e”? The short answer is simple: “potatoes” is always correct. “Potatos” is a very common mistake. In this article, you’ll get the quick fix, the full history, British vs American rules, real data, and clear advice so you never second-guess again.
Potatos or Potatoes – Quick Answer
Correct spelling: potatoes Wrong spelling: potatos
Examples:
- I bought five potatoes at the store. ✅
- She made mashed potatoes for dinner. ✅
- I bought five potatos at the store. ❌
Just remember: potato → potatoes (add -es).
The Origin of Potatos or Potatoes
The word comes from the Spanish “patata,” which Europeans borrowed in the 1500s from the Taíno language word “batata” (sweet potato). When English adopted it around 1565, the spelling became “potato.”
The plural caused confusion because English has two common ways to make nouns plural:
- Most words just add -s (cat → cats)
- Words that end in -o sometimes add -es (hero → heroes, tomato → tomatoes)
“Potato” follows the second rule, so the correct plural is “potatoes.” “Potatos” started appearing as a mistake in the 19th century and never became standard.
British English vs American English Spelling
Good news: both British and American English spell it “potatoes.” There is no difference.
| Word (singular) | British English plural | American English plural | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| potato | potatoes | potatoes | Same in both |
| tomato | tomatoes | tomatoes | Same |
| hero | heroes | heroes | Same |
| piano | pianos | pianos | Some -o words just add -s |
The only real difference with -o words is style-guide preference for words like “memos vs memo’s” or “volcanos vs volcanoes,” but “potatoes” is always safe.
Which Spelling Should You Use?
Always use potatoes.
- In the United States → potatoes
- In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India → potatoes
- In international business, exams, or publishing → potatoes
“Potatos” will always be marked wrong on school papers, spell-checkers, and professional documents.
Common Mistakes with Potatos or Potatoes
- Writing “potatos” (missing the e)
- Writing “potatoe’s” (wrong apostrophe)
- Writing “potato’s” when you mean plural (should be potatoes)
- Writing “potatos” in recipes or grocery lists and getting autocorrected
- Thinking Dan Quayle was right in 1992 when he corrected a child’s correct spelling of “potato” to “potatoe” — he was famously wrong.
Potatos or Potatoes in Everyday Examples
- Email: “Don’t forget to buy potatoes for dinner.”
- News headline (BBC, 2024): “UK potato harvest hit by wet weather.”
- Social media (X/Twitter): “Just made the best roasted potatoes 🥔🥔”
- Recipe blog: “Peel and chop 6 large potatoes.”
- Formal report: “Global production of potatoes reached 376 million tonnes in 2023.”
All use “potatoes.”
Potatos or Potatoes – Google Trends & Usage Data
Google search interest (2020–2025):
- “potatoes” gets millions of searches every month worldwide.
- “potatos” peaks when school starts or when the topic goes viral again.
Top countries searching “potatos or potatoes”:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Australia
- India
In every English-speaking country, “potatoes” is the dominant correct form in books, news, and websites (Google Ngram & corpus data).
Quick Comparison Table
| Variation | Correct? | Used in dictionaries? | Real-world frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| potato | Yes | Yes | Singular only |
| potatoes | Yes | Yes | 99.9% of plural uses |
| potatos | No | No | Common typo |
| potatoe | No | No (except 1992 joke) | Almost never |
| potatos’ | No | No | Wrong possession |
FAQs – Potatos or Potatoes
Q: Is it ever correct to write “potatos”? A: No. All major dictionaries (Oxford, Merriam-Webster, Cambridge) list only “potatoes.”
Q: Why do so many people spell it “potatos”? A: They treat it like words that just add -s (photo → photos, taco → tacos) instead of the -es rule.
Q: Wasn’t there a U.S. Vice President who spelled it “potatoe”? A: Yes, in 1992 Dan Quayle added an “e” to a child’s correct “potato.” It became a famous mistake.
Q: Do any English dialects use “potatos”? A: No mainstream dialect does. It’s always a mistake.
Q: Will spell-check catch “potatos”? A: Yes, Word, Google Docs, Grammarly, and phones all flag “potatos” as wrong.
Q: What’s the rule for other vegetables? A: Tomato → tomatoes, avocado → avocados (both add -es in modern usage).
Q: Is “potato” ever spelled differently in other languages? A: Yes — patata (Spanish), pomme de terre (French), kartoffel (German) — but in English it’s always potato/potatoes.
Conclusion: Just Use “Potatoes” and Move On
The debate is over: the correct plural is potatoes. “Potatos” is one of the most common spelling mistakes in English, but now you know the simple rule — words ending in -o that refer to vegetables or people (tomato, hero, potato) usually take -es. Whether you’re writing an email, a school essay, a cookbook, or a tweet, “potatoes” is the only form that’s universally accepted. Save yourself the doubt, trust the dictionaries, and enjoy your next plate of mashed potatoes without worrying about the spelling.
I am Maya Brooks, a passionate writer and language enthusiast at Grammexa.com, where words are explained with clarity and purpose.
I am dedicated to simplifying confusing terms, comparisons, and grammar topics for readers worldwide.
I am here to help you learn smarter, write better, and understand language with confidence.