complimentvscomplimenterWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,846
“compliment” frequency rank
#40,680
“complimenter” frequency rank
51526
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compliment complimenter
Definition Paroles louant la qualité d’une chose ou d’une personne. Honorer d’un compliment ou de compliments.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set compliment and complimenter apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
compliment
12 ch
complimenter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compliment is \kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃\ while complimenter is \kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “compliment” sits inside “complimenter”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51526, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compliment is recorded at frequency rank #10,846, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃\. complimenter is at rank #40,680, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.pli.mɑ̃.te\.

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 51526, this pair ranks #154,382 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of compliment vs complimenter

Shared letters: ceilmnopt. Private to "compliment": -. Private to "complimenter": r.

"compliment" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC  ·  "complimenter" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • complimentccompliment · cmopliment · comlpiment · commpliment · compilment · compliemnt · complimennt · complimentt
  • complimenterccomplimenter · cmoplimenter · comlpimenter · commplimenter · compilmenter · compliemnter · complimenetr · complimennter

Frequency comparison

compliment#10,846
complimenter#40,680

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "compliment" and "complimenter" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "compliment" is a noun and "complimenter" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "compliment" or "complimenter"?
"compliment" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,846 in our French list, against #40,680 for "complimenter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering compliment vs complimenter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “compliment”; for a verb, it's “complimenter”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “compliment” 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