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Compliment or complement?

By welfordwrites

These two words are often confused with each other, but they have quite different meanings.

If I compliment someone, I say something nice about them – “I like your new hairstyle”, for example.   A complimentary remark or statement is therefore one that shows approval.

However, a complement is something that accompanies something else, maybe offered as a gift.  For example, if my restaurant meal comes with a complementary glass of wine I would assume that it is free of charge because it was not on the original bill of fare, but something extra that the restaurant supplies to its customers.

Confusion sometimes arises when a situation can involve both meanings.  For example, in the case given above the glass of wine could arrive with a note that reads “with the compliments of the manager”.   In other words, the “complementary” (i.e. extra) glass is offered because the manager wishes to “compliment” his customers for having the good sense to eat in his restaurant!

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This entry was posted on 27 October, 2007 at 11:34 am and is filed under vocabulary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Compliment or complement?”

  1. Rina Says:
    3 November, 2007 at 3:01 am

    Hi – I remember these by matching the vowel:

    compl E ment ~ compl E te
    compl I ment ~ n I ce

    Similarly,

    station A ry ~ st A y
    station E ry ~ E nvelope

    I have a bunch of these that spring to mind whenever the need arises… such as, “there’s A RAT in sep A RAT e,” etc.

    cheers,
    Rina

  2. Lubna Says:
    9 November, 2007 at 11:05 am

    Hi
    I noticed your blog through Linked IN. It appeared that you had come across my profile. I love your blog. My compliments and it complements your profession and your zest for spreading knowledge of the English language. Personally, I read some books of Charles Dickens, at a very young age, before I could fully understand them, this unfortunately has put me off Dickens, perhaps forever.
    I think you should write a book. Have you read, Eats Shoots and Leaves. It was also a well written interesting read.
    Best
    Lubna

  3. Anne Says:
    11 December, 2007 at 11:31 am

    Here’s my trick:

    For practice (with a c – the noun)
    and practise (with an s – the verb)

    my trick is to think of advice (what you give, so a thing, so a noun)
    and advise (what you do, so a verb)

    cheers, everyone

    Anne

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