complémentsvscomplimentsTell them apart

Which to use

“compléments” and “compliments” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,138
“compléments” frequency rank
#12,536
“compliments” frequency rank
25674
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compléments compliments
Definition Pluriel de complément. Pluriel de compliment.

Where the eye mixes compléments and compliments

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

11 ch
compléments
11 ch
compliments

Look-alike desk: compléments vs compliments

A purely visual mix-up. compléments (\kɔ̃.ple.mɑ̃\) and compliments (\kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃\) 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 a single letter - é in “compléments” becomes i in “compliments”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25674, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compléments is recorded at frequency rank #13,138, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.ple.mɑ̃\. compliments is at rank #12,536, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃\.

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 25674, this pair ranks #339,499 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of compléments vs compliments

Shared letters: celmnopst. Private to "compléments": é. Private to "compliments": i.

"compléments" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCC  ·  "compliments" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • complimentsccompliments · cmopliments · comlpiments · commpliments · compilments · compliemnts · complimennts · complimenst

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "compléments" and "compliments" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.ple.mɑ̃\ versus \kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "compléments" or "compliments"?
"compliments" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,536 in our French list, against #13,138 for "compléments". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "compléments" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compliments" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #339,499 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compléments" and "compliments" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "complimenter vs compliments". 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 #339,499 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list