Which to use
“complex” is a noun and “complexe” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,940
- “complex” frequency rank
- #1,808
- “complexe” frequency rank
- 46748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | complex | complexe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ce qui forme un tout dont les parties interagissent de manière que ce tout soit à la fois plus et autre chose que la somme de ses parties et acquière une unité propre. | Qui n’est pas simple ; qui embrasse des éléments divers et entremêlés. |
Letter map: complex vs complexe
Shared letters muted; letters that set complex and complexe apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.
Part-of-speech tell for complex / complexe
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: complex is anoun and complexeanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “complex” sits inside “complexe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
complex is recorded at frequency rank #44,940, classified as anoun. 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 46748, this pair ranks #192,431 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of complex vs complexe
Shared letters: celmopx. Private to "complex": -. Private to "complexe": -.
"complex" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "complexe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "complex" for "complexe" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "complex" or "complexe" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "complex" and "complexe".
- Full dictionary entry for "complex" 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 #192,431 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "complex" and "complexe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compiler vs complex". 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 #192,431 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.