The interatomic distances in the ternary compounds Ti3SiC2, Ti3GeC2 and Ti2GeC have been determined precisely by comparing the lattice parameters of Ti3GeC2 and Ti2GeC, on the one hand, and Ti3GeC2 and Ti3SiC2, on the other. The assumptions made were that the Ti-Ge and Ti-C distances in the Ge-containing phases were identical, and that the differences in the Ti-Si and Ti-Ge distances in Ti3SiC2 and Ti3GeC2 phases were equal to the differences in the covalent radii of Si and Ge. While the results clearly show that the TiC octahedra in the ternary phases are distorted, the extent of that distortion is smaller than previously reported. The extent of the distortion was found to depend on the type of atoms surrounding the TiC6 octahedrons; the deformation is larger in the Ge-containing than in the Si-containing compounds. However, the Ti-C-Ti distances appear to be insensitive to the nature of the compound.