Which to use
“complain” is a verb and “complaints” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,840
- “complain” frequency rank
- #4,841
- “complaints” frequency rank
- 9681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | complain | complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. | plural of complaint |
Where the eye mixes complain and complaints
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between complain and complaints
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: complain is /kəmˈpleɪn/ while complaints is /kəmˈpleɪnts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “complain” sits inside “complaints”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
complain is recorded at frequency rank #4,840, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpleɪn/. complaints is at rank #4,841, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kəmˈpleɪnts/.
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 9681, this pair ranks #496,162 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of complain vs complaints
Shared letters: acilmnop. Private to "complain": -. Private to "complaints": st.
"complain" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "complaints" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- complain ← ccomplain · cmoplain · comlpain · commplain · compalin · complainn · complani · complian
- complaints ← ccomplaints · cmoplaints · comlpaints · commplaints · compalints · complainnts · complainst · complaintss
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "complain" and "complaints" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "complain" vs "complaints" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "complain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "complaints" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,162 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "complain" and "complaints" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Champlain vs complain". 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 #496,162 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.