terminal vs termine, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“terminal” is an adjective and “termine” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,953
“terminal” frequency rank: #4,469
“termine” frequency rank: 15422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	terminal	termine
Definition	am Ende gelegen	der Termin

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set terminal and termine apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

terminal

7 ch

termine

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: terminal is anadjective and termineanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

terminal is recorded at frequency rank #10,953, classified as anadj. termine is at rank #4,469, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 15422, this pair ranks #1,943,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of terminal vs termine

Shared letters: eimnrt. Private to "terminal": al. Private to "termine": -.

"terminal" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "termine" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

terminal ← etrminal · temrinal · terimnal · termianl · terminall · terminla · terminnal · termminal
termine ← etrmine · temrine · terimne · termien · terminne · termmine · termnie · terrmine

Frequency comparison

terminal#10,953

termine#4,469

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "terminal" and "termine" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "terminal" is an adjective and "termine" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "terminal" or "termine"?

"termine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,469 in our German list, against #10,953 for "terminal". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering terminal vs termine

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “terminal”; for a noun, it's “termine”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “terminal” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable