complètentvscompléterConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,111
“complètent” frequency rank
#5,436
“compléter” frequency rank
20547
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature complètent compléter
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de compléter. Rendre plus complet.

Where the eye mixes complètent and compléter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. complètent runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCVCC) against compléter's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
complètent
9 ch
compléter

Visual trap between complètent and compléter

A purely visual mix-up. complètent (\kɔ̃.plɛt\) and compléter (\kɔ̃.ple.te\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

complètent is recorded at frequency rank #15,111, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.plɛt\. compléter is at rank #5,436, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.ple.te\.

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 20547, this pair ranks #367,734 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of complètent vs compléter

Shared letters: celmopt. Private to "complètent": nè. Private to "compléter": ré.

"complètent" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC  ·  "compléter" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "complètent" for "compléter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.plɛt\ versus \kɔ̃.ple.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "complètent" or "compléter" show up more?
"compléter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,436 in our French list, against #15,111 for "complètent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "complètent" and "compléter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "complètent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compléter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #367,734 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "complètent" and "compléter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "complétées vs complètent". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #367,734 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