complètentvscomplimentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: complètent is a verb, compliment is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“complètent” is a verb and “compliment” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,111
“complètent” frequency rank
#10,846
“compliment” frequency rank
25957
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature complètent compliment
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de compléter. Paroles louant la qualité d’une chose ou d’une personne.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set complètent and compliment apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
complètent
10 ch
compliment

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: complètent is \kɔ̃.plɛt\ while compliment is \kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25957, 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\. compliment is at rank #10,846, 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 25957, this pair ranks #337,900 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of complètent vs compliment

Shared letters: celmnopt. Private to "complètent": è. Private to "compliment": i.

"complètent" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC  ·  "compliment" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • complimentccompliment · cmopliment · comlpiment · commpliment · compilment · compliemnt · complimennt · complimentt

Frequency comparison

complètent#15,111
compliment#10,846

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "complètent" and "compliment" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "complètent" is a verb and "compliment" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "complètent" or "compliment"?
"compliment" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,846 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.

Remembering complètent vs compliment

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “complètent”; for a noun, it's “compliment”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “complètent” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list