en face

[ɑ̃ː ˈfas]

/[ɑ̃ː ˈfas]/ adv

The verdict

“en face” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - von vorn betrachtet, in der Frontalansicht

Corpus desk

Index DE-en-face · en face · German

en face · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for en face
PropertyValue
Headworden face
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[ɑ̃ː ˈfas]
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „en face“ im Deutschen

en faceschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

en face is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed [ɑ̃ː ˈfas]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "von vorn betrachtet, in der Frontalansicht".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for en face, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is en face, spelled E-N- -F-A-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    von vorn betrachtet, in der Frontalansicht

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how en face appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Er mußte zugeben, daß Ferdinand recht hatte — en face mußte er ein halbes Gesicht mehr malen als im Profil.“

Antonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "en face"?
"en face" is spelled E-N- -F-A-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ɑ̃ː ˈfas].
What does "en face" mean?
As an adverb, "en face" means: von vorn betrachtet, in der Frontalansicht
How do you pronounce "en face"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "en face" is [ɑ̃ː ˈfas]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "en face" come from?
"en face" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list