# complain vs complained

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### complain
*verb · IPA /kəmˈpleɪn/ · frequency rank #4,840*
To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.

### complained
*verb · IPA /kəmˈpleɪnd/ · frequency rank #7,207*
simple past and past participle of complain

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complain-vs-complained