Tell it apart
| Aspect | Complement | Compliment |
|---|---|---|
| Means | Something that completes or improves | An expression of praise |
| Example | 'The sauce complements the fish.' | 'She complimented my cooking.' |
| Adjective | Complementary: working well together | Complimentary: praising, or free of charge |
| In English since | Late Middle English (via Latin) | Mid-17th century (via French and Italian) |
A complement completes or enhances something; a compliment is something nice said about someone. They sound the same and share a Latin ancestor (complementum, 'completion'), but in modern English they never overlap. Free drinks are complimentary, with an i; skills that fit together are complementary, with an e.
What it really means
Complement and compliment are pronounced identically, which means your ear can't help you. Only the spelling carries the difference, and one letter decides it.
Complement, with an e, is about completion. Two things complement each other when together they're better, or more whole, than apart: a scarf that complements a coat, a deputy whose patience complements a boss's speed. The adjective is complementary: complementary colours, complementary skills.
Compliment, with an i, is about praise. You pay someone a compliment; you compliment them on their work. Its adjective, complimentary, means praising ("complimentary remarks"), and also free: the complimentary bottle of water, given with the hotel's compliments.
The confusion is understandable, because the two were once one. Both go back to Latin complementum, "completion". Complement came into English first. Compliment arrived in the mid-1600s from French, which had taken it from Italian complimento, "fulfilment of the requirements of courtesy". For a while English even spelled the courteous word complement, before the French spelling took over around the turn of the 1700s.
Memory trick. Complement and complete share their first six letters, c-o-m-p-l-e, and a complement finishes something off. Compliment swaps in an i: picture the small glow I feel when someone says something kind.
In real life
- Right: The new hire's skills complement the team's. (they complete each other)
- Right: He complimented her on the presentation. (praise)
- Wrong: Breakfast is complementary for all guests. (free is 'complimentary', with an i)
Questions
Q01What is the difference between complement and compliment?
Complement (with an e) means to complete or go well with something: 'the colours complement each other'. Compliment (with an i) means praise: 'thanks for the compliment'.
Q02Is it complimentary or complementary drinks?
Complimentary. When something is free, it's complimentary, with an i. Complementary, with an e, means two things work well together, like complementary colours or skills.
Q03Why are they so similar?
They come from the same Latin word, complementum, 'completion'. Compliment arrived later, in the mid-1600s, through French from Italian; Oxford Learner's Dictionaries notes that its earlier English spelling was complement, replaced by the French form between about 1655 and 1715.
Sources
- complement (verb), with the compliment / complement note — Oxford Learner's Dictionaries.
- compliment (noun), with word origin — Oxford Learner's Dictionaries.
- Compliment vs. Complement — Dictionary.com.