complaint

English

Etymology

From Middle English compleynte, from Anglo-Norman compleint, from Old French compleindre, eventually from Latin planctus (whence plaint).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəmˈpleɪnt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪnt

Noun

complaint (countable and uncountable, plural complaints)

1. The act of complaining.
   • 2020 July 29, Paul Stephen, “A new collaboration centred on New Street”, in Rail, page 54:

     Complaints have risen in particular from passengers changing trains, who have observed little or no improvement in their ability to navigate between the station's 13 platforms.

2. A grievance, problem, difficulty, or concern.

   I have no complaints about the quality of his work, but I don't enjoy his company.

3. (law) In a civil action, the first pleading of the plaintiff setting out the facts on which the claim is based;
   The purpose is to give notice to the adversary of the nature and basis of the claim asserted.
4. (law) In criminal law, the preliminary charge or accusation made by one person against another to the appropriate court or officer, usually a magistrate.
   However, court proceedings, such as a trial, cannot be instituted until an indictment or information has been handed down against the defendant.
5. A bodily disorder or disease; the symptom of such a disorder.

   Don't come too close; I've got this nasty complaint.

Synonyms

• (in criminal law, the preliminary charge or accusation made by one person against another to the appropriate court or officer) criminal complaint, complaint of an offence/offense, (penal) charge, (criminal) charges, criminal information, informing the police/authorities, notification of the police/authorities, reporting an offence/offense to the police/authorities

Derived terms

• bill of complaint
• cross-complaint
• summer complaint

 

Translations

grievance, problem, difficulty, or concern; the act of complaining

• Albanian: ankim (sq) m, ankesë (sq) f
• Arabic: شِكَايَة f (šikāya), شَكْوَى m (šakwā)

  Egyptian Arabic: شكاية f (šikāya)

• Armenian: գանգատ (hy) (gangat), բողոք (hy) (boġokʻ)
• Aromanian: plãgu m
• Asturian: quexa f
• Avar: гӏарз (ʻarz)
• Azerbaijani: şikayət (az)
• Basque: auhen (eu)
• Belarusian: ска́рга f (skárha), жа́льба f (žálʹba)
• Bengali: অভিযোগ (bn) (obhijōg)
• Bulgarian: опла́кване (bg) n (oplákvane), недово́лство (bg) n (nedovólstvo), жа́лба (bg) f (žálba)
• Catalan: queixa (ca) f, plany (ca), lament (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 怨言 (zh) (yuànyán), 抱怨 (zh) (bàoyuàn)

• Czech: stížnost (cs) f
• Danish: klage (da) c
• Dutch: klacht (nl) m, beklag (nl) n, grieven (nl) pl
• Egyptian: (nḫwt f)
• Esperanto: plendo
• Estonian: kaebus
• Finnish: valitus (fi); valittaminen (fi) (act)
• French: plainte (fr) f, réclamation (fr) f
• Galician: queixa f, protesta (gl) f
• Georgian: საჩივარი (sačivari)
• German: Klage (de) f, Anzeige (de) f, Monierung f, Reklamation (de) f, Beanstandung (de) f, Beschwerde (de) f
• Greek: παράπονο (el) n (parápono)

  Ancient: μομφή f (momphḗ)

• Hebrew: תלונה f (tluná)
• Hindi: उलहना (hi) m (ulahnā), शिकायत (hi) f (śikāyat)
• Hungarian: panasz (hu), panaszkodás (hu), panaszolás, reklamáció (hu), kifogás (hu)
• Irish: gearán (ga) m, casaoid f, clamhsán m
• Italian: reclamo (it) m, lamentela (it) f, rimostranza (it) f
• Japanese: 不平 (ja) (ふへい, fuhei), 不満 (ja) (ふまん, fuman), 文句 (ja) (もんく, monku)
• Kazakh: шағым (şağym), наразылық (narazylyq)
• Korean: 불평(不平) (ko) (bulpyeong), 불만(不滿) (ko) (bulman), (government) 민원(民願) (ko) (minwon)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: گلەیی (ckb) (gleyî)

  Northern Kurdish: gazin (ku) f, gilî (ku) f, rexne (ku) f, şikayet (ku) f

• Kyrgyz: даттануу (ky) (dattanuu), дат (ky) (dat)
• Latin: querēla f, questus m
• Latvian: sūdzība f
• Lithuanian: skundas m
• Macedonian: жалба f (žalba)
• Malay: rungutan
• Malayalam: പരാതി (ml) (parāti)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: гомдол (mn) (gomdol)

  Mongolian: ᠭᠣᠮᠤᠳᠠᠯ (ɣomudal)

• Norman: pliainte f (Jersey)
• Norwegian: klage (no) m or f, innvending m or f
• Occitan: planh (oc) m
• Old English: inca m, ceorung f, cwīþung f
• Pashto: شکايت (ps) m (šekāyát)
• Pennsylvania German: Glaag f
• Persian: گله (fa) (gele), شکایت (fa) (šekâyat)
• Plautdietsch: Klacht f, Kloag f
• Polish: skarga (pl) f, zażalenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: queixa (pt) f, reclamação (pt) f
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਉਲਾਹਮਾ (pa) m (ulāhmā) (Standard Punjabi), ਲਾਹਮਾ m (lāhmā) (colloquial)

  Shahmukhi: اُلَاہْما m (ulāhmā) (Standard Punjabi), لَان٘بھا m (lāṉbhā) (chiefly Pakistan, colloquial), لَاہْما m (lāhmā) (colloquial, uncommon)

• Romanian: plângere (ro) f, nemulțumire (ro) f, reclamație (ro) f
• Russian: жа́лоба (ru) f (žáloba), недово́льство (ru) n (nedovólʹstvo), нарека́ние (ru) n (narekánije)
• Scottish Gaelic: coire f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: жа̀лба f

  Roman: žàlba (sh) f

• Slovak: sťažnosť f
• Slovene: pritožba f, tožba f
• Spanish: queja (es) f
• Swedish: klagomål (sv) n, klagan (sv) c
• Tagalog: reklamo
• Tajik: шикоят (šikoyat)
• Tatar: шикаять (tt) (şikayat’)
• Telugu: ఫిర్యాదు (te) (phiryādu)
• Turkish: şikayet (tr)
• Turkmen: şikaýat
• Ukrainian: ска́рга f (skárha), жа́лоба f (žáloba)
• Urdu: شِکَایَت f (śikāyat), شِکْوَہ f (śikva)
• Uyghur: شىكايەت (shikayet)
• Uzbek: shikoyat (uz)
• Vietnamese: phàn nàn (vi)
• Welsh: achwyn (cy) m

legal: in a civil action, the first pleading of the plaintiff

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: haastehakemus
• French: plainte (fr) f
• Galician: denuncia (gl) f
• Italian: denuncia (it) f
• Spanish: denuncia (es) f
• Welsh: achwyniad m

criminal law: preliminary charge or accusation made by one person against another

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: žaloba f
• Dutch: proces-verbaal (nl)
• Finnish: rikosilmoitus (fi)
• French: (to lodge a criminal complaint)porter plainte (fr) f
• Galician: denuncia (gl) f, querela f, denuncia (gl) f
• German: Strafanzeige (de) f, Anzeige (de) f
• Hungarian: feljelentés (hu)
• Italian: denuncia (it) f
• Portuguese: queixa (pt)
• Russian: иск (ru) m (isk)
• Spanish: denuncia (es) f
• Welsh: achwyniad m

bodily disorder or disease; the symptom of such a disorder

• Armenian: գանգատ (hy) (gangat)
• Bulgarian: бо́лест (bg) f (bólest), бо́лка (bg) f (bólka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 疾病 (zh) (jíbìng), 病症 (zh) (bìngzhèng)

• Czech: nemoc (cs) f, příznak nemoci m, symptom (cs) m
• Dutch: klacht (nl) m
• Esperanto: afekcio
• Finnish: vaiva (fi)
• Galician: afección (gl) f, molestia f
• German: Beschwerde (de) f, Leiden (de) f, Krankheit (de) f
• Hungarian: panasz (hu), bántalom (hu), betegség (hu), baj (hu), probléma (hu)
• Italian: disturbo (it) m
• Polish: dolegliwość (pl) f
• Portuguese: distúrbio (pt) m
• Romanian: indispoziție (ro) f, tulburare (ro) f, dereglare (ro) f, deranjament (ro) n
• Russian: недомога́ние (ru) n (nedomogánije), неду́г (ru) m (nedúg)
• Spanish: mal (es) m, afección (es) f, dolencia (es) f, achaque (es) f , problema (es) m
• Swahili: lawama (sw)
• Welsh: afiechyd (cy) m, clefyd m, salwch (cy) m, anhwylder (cy) m

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

• Irish: ^{(please verify)} acaoineadh m
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} klagomål (sv) n
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} şikayet (tr), ^{(please verify)} yakınma (tr)

Anagrams

• coimplant, compliant