complain
/kəmˈpleɪn/
"complain" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“complain” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,840 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #4,840
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | complain |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kəmˈpleɪn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #4,840 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “complain” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for complain is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kəmˈpleɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,840 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for complain, with forms such as "ccomplain", "cmoplain", and "comlpain". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "complaint", "complains", "complying", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English complaynen, from Old French complaindre, from Medieval Latin complangere (“to bewail, complain”), from Latin com- (“together”) + plangere (“to strike, beat, as the breast in extreme grief, bewail”); see plain, plaint. The correct English form is complain, spelled C-O-M-P-L-A-I-N.
Definition
- 1To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
- 2To make a formal accusation or bring a formal charge.
- 3To creak or squeak, as a timber or wheel.
Etymology
From Middle English complaynen, from Old French complaindre, from Medieval Latin complangere (“to bewail, complain”), from Latin com- (“together”) + plangere (“to strike, beat, as the breast in extreme grief, bewail”); see plain, plaint.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccomplain,cmoplain,comlpain,commplain,compalin,complainn,complani,complian,compllain,compplain,copmlain,ocmplain
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of complain - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “complain”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-M-P-L-A-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kəmˈpleɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “complaint” - see the side-by-side comparison. complain vs complaint
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.