Which to use
“compliqué” is an adjective and “compliquer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,415
- “compliqué” frequency rank
- #13,756
- “compliquer” frequency rank
- 16171
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compliqué | compliquer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Complexe, embrouillé. | Rendre confus ou difficile à comprendre. |
Same sound, different letters: compliqué vs compliquer
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. compliqué runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVV) against compliquer's 10 (CVCCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - compliqué / compliquer
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: compliqué and compliquer carry the same recorded pronunciation, \kɔ̃.pli.ke\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compliqué is recorded at frequency rank #2,415, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pli.ke\. compliquer is at rank #13,756, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.pli.ke\.
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 16171, this pair ranks #389,048 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compliqué vs compliquer
Shared letters: cilmopqu. Private to "compliqué": é. Private to "compliquer": er.
"compliqué" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV · "compliquer" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- compliquer ← ccompliquer · cmopliquer · comlpiquer · commpliquer · compilquer · compliqeur · compliqquer · compliquerr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "compliqué" for "compliquer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "compliqué" or "compliquer"?
What to do next
"compliqué" and "compliquer" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "compliqué" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compliquer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #389,048 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compliqué" and "compliquer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compliquent vs compliquer". 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 #389,048 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.