English homophones
complementary/complimentary
"complementary" (#13,688 written frequency) beats "complimentary" (#18,273) in this 2-word /ˌkɒmplɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /ˌkɒmplɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "complementary" leads at #13,688, with "complimentary" trailing at #18,273.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Shared stem "compl" then splits - "complementary" (13 letters) vs "complimentary" (13).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across complementary, complimentary: acelmnoprty. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
complementary
13 letters · 5 vowels · shape CVCCCVCVCCVCV
Inventory acelmnoprty · no private letters vs siblings
complimentary
13 letters · 5 vowels · shape CVCCCVCVCCVCV
Inventory aceilmnoprty · private i
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "complementary" when you mean: Acting as a complement; making up a whole with something else.
- Write "complimentary" when you mean: In the nature of a compliment.
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
- complementary ← ccomplementary · cmoplementary · comlpementary · commplementary · compelmentary · compleemntary
- complimentary ← ccomplimentary · cmoplimentary · comlpimentary · commplimentary · compilmentary · compliemntary
Each spelling
adjective · /ˌkɒmplɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/ · #13,688 frequency
Acting as a complement; making up a whole with something else.
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (complementary, complimentary). Here's where to go from here.
- "complementary" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #13,688 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 2 spellings ranks #133 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 2-spelling cluster: canon · cannon. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "complementary, complimentary" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.