Which to use
“complained” and “complied” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,207
- “complained” frequency rank
- #20,888
- “complied” frequency rank
- 28095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | complained | complied |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of complain | simple past and past participle of comply |
Where the eye mixes complained and complied
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between complained and complied
A purely visual mix-up. complained (/kəmˈpleɪnd/) and complied (/kəmˈplaɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
complained is recorded at frequency rank #7,207, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpleɪnd/. complied is at rank #20,888, tagged as averb, pronounced /kəmˈplaɪd/.
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 28095, this pair ranks #373,787 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of complained vs complied
Shared letters: cdeilmop. Private to "complained": an. Private to "complied": -.
"complained" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC · "complied" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- complained ← ccomplained · cmoplained · comlpained · commplained · compalined · complaiend · complainde · complainedd
- complied ← ccomplied · cmoplied · comlpied · commplied · compiled · compleid · complide · compliedd
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "complained" and "complied" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "complained" or "complied"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "complained" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "complied" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #373,787 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "complained" and "complied" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "complied vs complies". 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 #373,787 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.