complicevscompriseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,290
“complice” frequency rank
#6,938
“comprise” frequency rank
14228
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature complice comprise
Definition Qui participe au délit ou au crime commis par un autre. Féminin singulier de compris.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set complice and comprise apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
complice
8 ch
comprise

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. complice (\kɔ̃.plis\) and comprise (\kɔ̃.pʁiz\) 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 14228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

complice is recorded at frequency rank #7,290, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.plis\. comprise is at rank #6,938, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pʁiz\.

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 14228, this pair ranks #397,592 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of complice vs comprise

Shared letters: ceimop. Private to "complice": l. Private to "comprise": rs.

"complice" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "comprise" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • compliceccomplice · cmoplice · comlpice · commplice · compilce · complcie · complicce · compliec
  • compriseccomprise · cmoprise · commprise · compirse · compprise · compries · comprisse · comprrise

Frequency comparison

complice#7,290
comprise#6,938

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "complice" and "comprise" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.plis\ versus \kɔ̃.pʁiz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "complice" or "comprise"?
"comprise" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,938 in our French list, against #7,290 for "complice". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering complice vs comprise

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “complice” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list