terminanvsterminarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“terminan” and “terminar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,559
“terminan” frequency rank
#1,160
“terminar” frequency rank
5719
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature terminan terminar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de terminar o de terminarse. Poner fin o llevar a su término una cosa.

Where the eye mixes terminan and terminar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
terminan
8 ch
terminar

Look-alike desk: terminan vs terminar

A purely visual mix-up. terminan ([t̪eɾˈminãn]) and terminar ([t̪eɾmiˈnaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “terminan” becomes r in “terminar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

terminan is recorded at frequency rank #4,559, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪eɾˈminãn]. terminar is at rank #1,160, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪eɾmiˈnaɾ].

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 5719, this pair ranks #312,845 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of terminan vs terminar

Shared letters: aeimnrt. Private to "terminan": -. Private to "terminar": -.

"terminan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "terminar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • terminanetrminan · temrinan · terimnan · termiann · terminann · terminna · terminnan · termminan
  • terminaretrminar · temrinar · terimnar · termianr · terminarr · terminnar · terminra · termminar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "terminan" for "terminar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([t̪eɾˈminãn] versus [t̪eɾmiˈnaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "terminan" or "terminar"?
"terminar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,160 in our Spanish list, against #4,559 for "terminan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "terminan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "terminar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #312,845 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "terminan" and "terminar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "terminar vs terminarse". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #312,845 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list