à l’époque

\a l‿e.pɔk\

/\a l‿e.pɔk\/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“à l’époque” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Quand c'est survenu, arrivé ; dans ce temps-là.

Corpus desk

Index FR-a-l-epoque · à l’époque · French

à l’époque · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "À" 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 à l’époque
PropertyValue
Headwordà l’époque
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a l‿e.pɔk\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “à l’époque” sits in French frequency

à l’époque falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

à l’époque is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a l‿e.pɔk\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Quand c'est survenu, arrivé ; dans ce temps-là.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for à l’époque, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is à l’époque, spelled À- -L-’-É-P-O-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Quand c'est survenu, arrivé ; dans ce temps-là.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Au sommet de sa gloire, l’épisode de La Petite Vie du 20 mars 1995 avait rejoint 4 098 000 téléspectateurs, soit près des deux tiers de la population du Québec à l’époque. C’est seulement 23 ans plus tard que le record a été battu par l’édition de 2018 du Bye Bye.

This word in other languages

back then(English)antigamente(Português)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "à l’époque"?
"à l’époque" is spelled À- -L-’-É-P-O-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a l‿e.pɔk\.
What does "à l’époque" mean?
As an adverb, "à l’époque" means: Quand c'est survenu, arrivé ; dans ce temps-là.
How do you pronounce "à l’époque"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à l’époque" is \a l‿e.pɔk\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à l’époque" come from?
"à l’époque" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list