complexe

\kɔ̃.plɛks\

/\kɔ̃.plɛks\/ adj

The verdict

“complexe” has 12 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #1,808. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,808
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui n’est pas simple ; qui embrasse des éléments divers et entremêlés.

Corpus desk

Index FR-complexe · complexe · French

complexe · rank #1,808 · 12 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,808
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH complet

Nearest frequency peer: complet (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “complexe”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “complexe” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

complexe vs couplée
63% similar
complexe vs complice
75% similar
complexe vs complexité
70% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for complexe
PropertyValue
Headwordcomplexe
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\kɔ̃.plɛks\
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,808
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “complexe” se place dans la fréquence du français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.complexese place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « complet » (#1,807), « concert » (#1,809), « chasse » (#1,806). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around complexe (IPA \kɔ̃.plɛks\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,808 among 8,609 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for complexe, with forms such as "ccomplexe", "cmoplexe", and "comlpexe". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "couplée", "complice", "complexité", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is complexe, spelled C-O-M-P-L-E-X-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui n’est pas simple ; qui embrasse des éléments divers et entremêlés.
  2. 2
    Qualifie un nombre qui peut s'écrire de la forme a+ib où a et b sont deux nombres réels et i l'unité imaginaire.
  3. 3
    Dont il est très difficile, voire impossible, d’anticiper les résultats.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how complexe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Quand elle rentrait dans la chambre surchauffée du poêle où se mariaient des odeurs complexes de tourteaux broyés et de racines cuites pour le lécher des vaches, Finaud la regardait d'un œil mi-interrogateur, mi-narquois.
  2. Dans la pratique il est difficile de préciser les points de coagulation d'un mélange aussi complexe que la crème anglaise, par exemple.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccomplexe
  • cmoplexe
  • comlpexe
  • commplexe
  • compelxe
  • compleex
  • complexxe
  • compllexe
  • complxee
  • compplexe
  • copmlexe
  • ocmplexe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of complexe - 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.

ccomplexe1cmoplexe2comlpexe2commplexe1compelxe2compleex2complexxe1compllexe1
Edit distance from "complexe"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "complexe"?
"complexe" is spelled C-O-M-P-L-E-X-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ̃.plɛks\.
What does "complexe" mean?
As an adjective, "complexe" means: Qui n’est pas simple ; qui embrasse des éléments divers et entremêlés.
What words are commonly confused with "complexe"?
"complexe" is commonly confused with "couplée", "complice", "complexité". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "complexe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "complexe" is \kɔ̃.plɛks\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "complexe" come from?
"complexe" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "complexe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "complexe". Here's where to go from here.

  • "complexe" maps to 12 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "couplée". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,808 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list