complètesvscomplexeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,137
“complètes” frequency rank
#1,808
“complexe” frequency rank
10945
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature complètes complexe
Definition Féminin pluriel de complet. Qui n’est pas simple ; qui embrasse des éléments divers et entremêlés.

Where the eye mixes complètes and complexe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

9 ch
complètes
8 ch
complexe

Look-alike desk: complètes vs complexe

A purely visual mix-up. complètes (\kɔ̃.plɛt\) and complexe (\kɔ̃.plɛks\) 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 10945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

complètes is recorded at frequency rank #9,137, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.plɛt\. complexe is at rank #1,808, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.plɛks\.

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 10945, this pair ranks #411,061 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of complètes vs complexe

Shared letters: celmop. Private to "complètes": stè. Private to "complexe": x.

"complètes" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "complexe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • complexeccomplexe · cmoplexe · comlpexe · commplexe · compelxe · compleex · complexxe · compllexe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "complètes" and "complexe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.plɛt\ versus \kɔ̃.plɛks\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "complètes" vs "complexe" - which ranks higher?
"complexe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,808 in our French list, against #9,137 for "complètes". 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 "complètes" and "complexe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "complètes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "complexe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #411,061 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "complètes" and "complexe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "complètes vs comptées". 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 #411,061 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