Hi, potential is a wide termin. The definition depends on the context. But it characterizes the potential energy in respect to the some testing value. For a simple example in electricity an electrostatic potential is Wp/q, where Wp is the potential energy and the q is the testing point charge. In this case the using of potential is advantageous, becuase this is a function, which is independent on the auxilliary value of testing charge.

The term "Potential" is better suited to explain energy wall/barrier which a test particle may have to experience or overcome in order to penetrate/escape as the case may be.

The term "potential energy" is often attributed to a test particle which it possesses by virtue of its position in a given external field. The field could be gravitational, electrostatic, nuclear and so on.