à la fois
\a la fwa\
The verdict
“à la fois” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - En même temps, simultanément, ensemble.
Corpus desk
Index FR-a-la-fois · à la fois · French
à la fois · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | à la fois |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \a la fwa\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « à la fois » en français
Rare enough to double-check
à la fois is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a la fwa\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "En même temps, simultanément, ensemble.".
No misspelling variants are generated for à la fois in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is à la fois, spelled À- -L-A- -F-O-I-S.
Definition
- 1En même temps, simultanément, ensemble.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how à la fois appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Les paroles vaines que l’on s’adresse le matin sur la santé, sur la beauté du jour, tarirent à la fois chez tous les deux.
Tout de suite, elle fut étourdie, stupéfaite par le tapage des ménétriers, les lumières dans les arbres, la bigarrure des costumes, les dentelles, les croix d’or, cette masse de monde sautant à la fois.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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.