terminevsterminéesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: termine is a verb, terminées is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#2,967
“termine” frequency rank
#16,497
“terminées” frequency rank
19464
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature termine terminées
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de terminer. Féminin pluriel de terminé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set termine and terminées apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
termine
9 ch
terminées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: termine is \tɛʁ.min\ while terminées is \tɛʁ.mi.ne\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

termine is recorded at frequency rank #2,967, classified as averb, pronounced \tɛʁ.min\. terminées is at rank #16,497, tagged as anadj, pronounced \tɛʁ.mi.ne\.

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 19464, this pair ranks #373,139 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of termine vs terminées

Shared letters: eimnrt. Private to "termine": -. Private to "terminées": .

"termine" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "terminées" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • termineetrmine · temrine · terimne · termien · terminne · termmine · termnie · terrmine

Frequency comparison

termine#2,967
terminées#16,497

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "termine" and "terminées" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "termine" is a verb and "terminées" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "termine" or "terminées"?
"termine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,967 in our French list, against #16,497 for "terminées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering termine vs terminées

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “termine”; for an adjective, it's “terminées”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “termine” 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