AI engineering glossary · Evaluation metrics
What is TER (translation edit rate)?
Translation edit rate (also called TER): A translation metric counting the minimum number of edits (insertions, deletions, substitutions and shifts of word blocks) needed to turn the system output into a reference, divided by the reference length. Lower is better, and it approximates how much human post-editing is needed.
Translation edit rate: an example
If 3 edits fix a 12-word output, TER = 3 / 12 = 0.25.
Related terms
More Evaluation metrics terms
- True negative
- True positive
- V-measure
- Weighted averaging
- Weighted kappa
- Word error rate
- Youden's J statistic
- Accuracy
Where you learn it
Translation edit rate is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.