Which to use
“termine” and “terminer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,967
- “termine” frequency rank
- #3,298
- “terminer” frequency rank
- 6265
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | termine | terminer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de terminer. | Borner, limiter. |
Where the eye mixes termine and terminer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses termine with terminer
A purely visual mix-up. termine (\tɛʁ.min\) and terminer (\tɛʁ.mi.ne\) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “termine” sits inside “terminer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6265, 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\. terminer is at rank #3,298, tagged as averb, 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 6265, this pair ranks #426,706 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of termine vs terminer
Shared letters: eimnrt. Private to "termine": -. Private to "terminer": -.
"termine" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "terminer" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "termine" for "terminer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "termine" vs "terminer" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "termine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "terminer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,706 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "termine" and "terminer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "terminer vs terminerai". 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 #426,706 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.