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I already looked them up in dictionaries, but I can't understand the meanings completely.

They said:

  • Proportion is a derived term of portion. As nouns the difference between proportion and portion is that proportion is (countable) a quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number while portion is an allocated amount. As verbs the difference between proportion and portion is that proportion is (arts) to set or render in proportion while portion is to divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes.

  • As nouns the difference between ratio and proportion is that ratio is a number representing a comparison between two things while proportion is (countable) a quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number. As a verb proportion is (arts) to set or render in proportion.

  • As nouns the difference between portion and ratio is that portion is portion while ratio is reason.

enter image description here

I summarised them as the picture above.

According to the pie graph below (the previous question), I have been told differently that the words "ratio" and "proportion" don't suit the following sentence.

Overall, the numbers/percentages are not that very different for each _____.


enter image description here

However, as stated in my summary, thus "ratio" equals "percentage", and "proportion" is a quantity of something that is part of the whole amount. Now they should fit the sentence, shouldn't they?

What are the difference between:

1. proportion

2. portion

and

3. ratio?

Thank you very much :)

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    I think you would find the two words "proportion" and "portion" far easier to understand if you divorced them from one another in your mind. Their etymology is clearly linked, but they are used in very different contexts. If I were you I would think of them as entirely different words.
    – WS2
    Commented Nov 2, 2018 at 20:23

2 Answers 2

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Portion is interchangeable with slice/section/piece so fits your sentence.

If you're asked what proportion you'd usually answer with a quantity, fraction or percentage. So it doesn't fit your sentence, it would be like repeating yourself.

A ratio is made up of 2 or more parts e.g. 3:1

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  • It may be annoying, but I'm really curious. In this case, the 40% is also from 40 : 25 : 35, is percentage considered ratio?
    – hbtpoprock
    Commented Nov 2, 2018 at 14:30
  • @hbtpoprock: A ratio of 3:1 means that out of every 4 (3+1) equal parts, 3 fall into the first category, and 1 into the second category. A percentage is just a "special case" for identifying how many parts out of 100 fall into the category of interest. So 40% corresponds to the ratio 40:60 (which would normally be expressed as 2:3 after factorising).
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 2, 2018 at 14:35
  • You're saying percentage is a proper subset of ratio, that would mean the word "ratio" may fit the sentence too? @FumbleFingers
    – hbtpoprock
    Commented Nov 2, 2018 at 15:39
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    I'm not sure what you mean by "proper subset". Syntactically, a ratio is different to a percentage. Primarily because with a ratio you always need to specify two numbers, but with a percentage one number (the total within which some fraction / portion / proportion forms a part) is always 100, so it doesn't need to be explicitly stated. But this sort of question belongs on English Language Learners, not here.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 2, 2018 at 16:00
  • The different parts of a pie chart are normally called slices or sectors, not portions. (Sector is the geometric term.)
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jan 23, 2023 at 11:27
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1.) ( Proportion is a derived term of portion. As nouns the difference between proportion and portion is that proportion is (countable) a quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number while portion is an allocated amount.)

  • Ok, but a portion is countable too, a portion is also a quantity of something that is part of the whole amount/number and both can be allocated amounts or not allocated amounts…… So that’s unnecessary information to determine the difference between the two.

2.) (As verbs the difference between proportion and portion is that proportion is (arts) to set or render in proportion while portion is to divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes.)

  • Using the above arts example: The portions need to be set or rendered, so again they’re interchangeable. As for portions being divided into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes, proportion also can be. Example: “Maximowiczfinds that 40% of the plants of Manchuria are common to Europe and Asia, but the proportion falls sharply to 16% in the case of Japan.” Or “The alkyl derivatives may be obtained by heating phenol with one molecular proportion of a caustic alkali and of an alkyl iodide.” So they’re still interchangeable.

3.) (As nouns the difference between ratio and proportion is that ratio is a number representing a comparison between two things while proportion is (countable) a quantity of something that is part of the whole amount or number. As a verb proportion is (arts) to set or render in proportion. As nouns the difference between portion and ratio is that portion is portion while ratio is reason.)

  • Repetitive information, unnecessary for distinguishing differences.

*HERE IS THE DIFFERENCE….

  • If you compare the definitions you’ll find that proportions are harmonious in relation to parts to each other or to the whole : BALANCE, SYMMETRY (proper or equal share). Portions can be harmonious, balanced, and/or symmetrical but are not required to be, according to how it’s defined. If you draw a potato and it’s taller than a skyscraper, it’s out of proportion. If you draw a potato and there’s a section missing, it’s missing a portion.

Hopefully this helps someone and please let me know if you find any flaws in what I’ve written. Thank you.

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    Commented Jan 23, 2023 at 0:27

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