complain

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm

Proto-Italic *kom

Proto-Italic *kom-

Latin con-

Latin com-

Proto-Indo-European *pel-

Proto-Indo-European *-ti

Proto-Indo-European *pl(e)h₂-n-g-e-tider.

Proto-Italic *plāngō

Latin plango

Latin plangere

Medieval Latin complangereder.

Old French conplaindre

Old French complaindreder.

Middle English complaynen

English complain

From Middle English complaynen, from Old French complaindre, from Medieval Latin complangere (“to bewail, complain”), from Latin com- (“together”) + plangere (“to strike, beat, as the breast in extreme grief, bewail”); see plain, plaint.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəmˈpleɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪn

Verb

complain (third-person singular simple present complains, present participle complaining, simple past and past participle complained)

1. (intransitive) To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.

   Joe was always complaining about the noise made by his neighbours.

   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 12, line 67:

     O loſs of ſight, of thee I moſt complain!

2. (intransitive) To state the presence of something negative; to indicate that one is suffering from something; to report (e.g.) a symptom.

   The patient complained of headache, nausea, and joint pain.

3. (intransitive) To make a formal accusation or bring a formal charge.

   They've complained about me to the police again.

   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     Now, Master Shallow, you'll complain of me to the king?

   • 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings‎^[1], New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 85:

     If you get cheated by the Better Business Bureau, who do you complain to?

4. To creak or squeak, as a timber or wheel.

   the complaining bed-springs

Usage notes

• In the sense "bemoan, express displeasure," complain is most often followed by about, although of is also possible. In the more neutral sense "state the presence of a problem or symptom," of is more usual.

Synonyms

• (to express displeasure with): See Thesaurus:complain

Derived terms

• can't complain
• complainable
• complainant
• complainee
• complainer
• complainingly
• complainingness
• complain king
• complain queen
• complainy
• noncomplaining
• uncomplained
• uncomplaining
• you'd complain if you were hung with a new rope

Translations

to make a formal accusation or bring a formal charge

• Arabic: شَكَا (šakā), اِشْتَكَى (ištakā)
• Armenian: բողոքել (hy) (boġokʻel), բողոք հայտնել (boġokʻ haytnel), բողոք հարուցել (boġokʻ harucʻel), բողոք տալ (boġokʻ tal), գանգատ տալ (gangat tal)
• Asturian: quexar
• Azerbaijani: şikayət etmək
• Bulgarian: подавам жалба (podavam žalba)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 投訴 / 投诉 (zh) (tóusù)

• Czech: podat (cs) stížnost (cs) f
• Dutch: een klacht (nl) indienen, klagen (nl), zeiken (nl), kankeren (nl)
• Esperanto: plendi
• Finnish: valittaa (fi), tehdä valitus
• French: porter plainte (fr)
• Georgian: ჩივილი (čivili)
• German: sich beschweren, klagen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: μέμφομαι (mémphomai)

• Irish: bí ag clamhsán, déan clamhsán
• Japanese: 文句する (monku suru), 訴える (ja) (uttaeru)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 고소(告訴)하다 (ko) (gosohada), 고발(告發)하다 (ko) (gobalhada)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: skarżyć (pl), składać skargę
• Portuguese: queixar-se (pt)
• Romanian: se plânge, reclama (ro)
• Russian: жа́ловаться (ru) (žálovatʹsja), подава́ть жа́лобу (podavátʹ žálobu)
• Scottish Gaelic: dèan casaid
• Spanish: reclamar (es), protestar (es), quejarse (es), querellarse (es)
• Swahili: lalamika (sw)
• Thai: ร้องเรียน (th) (rɔ́ɔng-riian)
• Ukrainian: ска́ржитися impf (skáržytysja)
• Vietnamese: thưa kiện (vi)
• Welsh: achwyn (cy)

to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment

• Altai:

  Southern Altai: сыстаар (sïstaar)

• Arabic: تَذَمَّرَ (taḏammara), اِشْتَكَى (ištakā), شَكَا (šakā)

  Moroccan Arabic: شْكَى (ška)

• Armenian: գանգատվել (hy) (gangatvel) (Eastern Armenian), գանգատիլ (gangatil) (Western Armenian)
• Azerbaijani: şikayət etmək
• Basque: auhendatu
• Bulgarian: оплаквам се (oplakvam se)
• Catalan: queixar-se (ca), plànyer-se (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 抱怨 (zh) (bàoyuàn), 發牢騷 / 发牢骚 (zh) (fā láosāo), 悲嘆 / 悲叹 (zh) (bēitàn)

• Czech: stěžovat si
• Dalmatian: plungro
• Danish: klage (da), beklage sig, brokke sig (da)
• Dutch: klagen (nl)
• Esperanto: plendi
• Finnish: valittaa (fi)
• French: se plaindre (fr)
• Galician: laiar, queixarse (gl), carpir, tanxer (gl)
• Georgian: წუწუნი (c̣uc̣uni), ბუზღუნი (buzɣuni), ჩივილი (čivili)
• German: sich beschweren, klagen (de), sich beklagen, meckern (de)

  Alemannic German: motzä

• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍈𐍉𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaƕōtjan), 𐌱𐌹𐍂𐍉𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (birōdjan)
• Greek: παραπονιέμαι (el) (paraponiémai)
• Hawaiian: hoʻohalahala
• Hebrew: הִתְלוֹנֵן (he) (hitlonén)
• Hindi: शिकायत करना (śikāyat karnā)
• Ido: plendar (io)
• Indonesian: adu (id), merajuk (id), mengeluh (id)
• Irish: bí ag clamhsán, déan clamhsán, éagaoin
• Italian: lamentarsi (it), lagnarsi (it)
• Japanese: ぼやく (ja) (boyaku), ぶつぶつ言う (ぶつぶついう, butsubutsu iu), とやかく言う (toyakaku iu)
• Korean: 불평(不平)하다 (ko) (bulpyeonghada), 불만(不滿)을 말하다 (bulman-eul malhada), (in an official capacity) 항의(抗議)하다 (ko) (hang'uihada), (government) 민원(民願)을 제기(提起)하다 (minwon-eul jegihada)
• Kyrgyz: сыздоо (ky) (sızdoo)
• Latin: queror (la)
• Malay: adu (ms)
• Malayalam: പരാതിപ്പെടുക (parātippeṭuka)
• Maltese: gerger
• Occitan: plànher (oc)
• Old English: mǣnan
• Polish: narzekać (pl), skarżyć się (pl)
• Portuguese: reclamar (pt), queixar-se (pt)
• Romanian: plânge (ro)
• Russian: жа́ловаться (ru) (žálovatʹsja), сетовать (ru) (setovatʹ), ныть (ru) (nytʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: gearain, talaich
• Serbo-Croatian: žaliti se impf, požaliti se pf
• Spanish: quejarse (es), alegar (es), lamentarse (es), querellarse (es)
• Swahili: lalamika (sw)
• Swedish: klaga (sv)
• Thai: บ่น (th) (bòn)
• Tocharian B: pälw-
• Ukrainian: ска́ржитися impf (skáržytysja), ни́ти impf (nýty), жалі́тися impf (žalítysja)
• Vietnamese: phàn nàn (vi)
• Volapük: plonön (vo)
• Walloon: si plinde (wa)
• Welsh: achwyn (cy), cwyno (cy), conan (cy)
• Yoruba: ṣàròyé, ráhùn, rojọ́

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} kvarta (is)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} reclamare (it), ^{(please verify)} lamentarsi (it), ^{(please verify)} lagnarsi (it)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} plânge (ro)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} požaliti (sh), ^{(please verify)} žaliti (sh)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} klaga (sv)
• Tagalog: ^{(please verify)} reklamo

Further reading

• “complain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “complain”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• amplicon