terminaisonvsterminaisonsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“terminaison” and “terminaisons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,001
“terminaison” frequency rank
#39,067
“terminaisons” frequency rank
69068
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature terminaison terminaisons
Definition Fin d’une chose ; état de ce qui se termine, de ce qui cesse. Pluriel de terminaison.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set terminaison and terminaisons apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
terminaison
12 ch
terminaisons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. terminaison and terminaisons are pronounced identically (\tɛʁ.mi.nɛ.zɔ̃\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “terminaison” sits inside “terminaisons”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

terminaison is recorded at frequency rank #30,001, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɛʁ.mi.nɛ.zɔ̃\. terminaisons is at rank #39,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛʁ.mi.nɛ.zɔ̃\.

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 69068, this pair ranks #56,602 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of terminaison vs terminaisons

Shared letters: aeimnorst. Private to "terminaison": -. Private to "terminaisons": -.

"terminaison" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC  ·  "terminaisons" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • terminaisonetrminaison · temrinaison · terimnaison · termianison · terminaiosn · terminaisno · terminaisonn · terminaisson
  • terminaisonsetrminaisons · temrinaisons · terimnaisons · termianisons · terminaiosns · terminaisnos · terminaisonns · terminaisonss

Frequency comparison

terminaison#30,001
terminaisons#39,067

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "terminaison" and "terminaisons" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\tɛʁ.mi.nɛ.zɔ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "terminaison" or "terminaisons"?
"terminaison" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,001 in our French list, against #39,067 for "terminaisons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering terminaison vs terminaisons

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “terminaison” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list