complètesvscomplicesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,137
“complètes” frequency rank
#9,622
“complices” frequency rank
18759
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature complètes complices
Definition Féminin pluriel de complet. Pluriel de complice.

Where the eye mixes complètes and complices

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. complètes and complices follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
complètes
9 ch
complices

Why the eye confuses complètes with complices

A purely visual mix-up. complètes (\kɔ̃.plɛt\) and complices (\kɔ̃.plis\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18759, 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\. complices is at rank #9,622, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.plis\.

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 18759, this pair ranks #376,710 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of complètes vs complices

Shared letters: celmops. Private to "complètes": tè. Private to "complices": i.

"complètes" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "complices" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • complices ← ccomplices · cmoplices · comlpices · commplices · compilces · complcies · complicces · complicess

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "complètes" and "complices" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.plɛt\ versus \kɔ̃.plis\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "complètes" or "complices"?
"complètes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,137 in our French list, against #9,622 for "complices". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "complètes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "complices" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #376,710 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "complètes" and "complices" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "complices vs comptines". 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 #376,710 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