alors que

\a.lɔʁ kə\

/\a.lɔʁ kə\/ conj

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

The verdict

“alors que” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a conjunction. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lorsque, au moment où.

Key facts for alors que
PropertyValue
Headwordalors que
LanguageFrench
Part of speechConjunction
IPA\a.lɔʁ kə\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “alors que” sits in French frequency

alors que 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

alors que is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as aconjunction, transcribed \a.lɔʁ kə\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for alors que, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is alors que, spelled A-L-O-R-S- -Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lorsque, au moment où.
  2. 2
    Dans un contexte où.
  3. 3
    Exprime une opposition entre deux réalités.

Synonyms

tandis quecependant que

This word in other languages

while(English)mientras(Español)während(Deutsch)

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 "alors que"?
"alors que" is spelled A-L-O-R-S- -Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a.lɔʁ kə\.
What does "alors que" mean?
As a conjunction, "alors que" means: Lorsque, au moment où.
How do you pronounce "alors que"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alors que" is \a.lɔʁ kə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "alors que" come from?
"alors que" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “alors que”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-L-O-R-S- -Q-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.lɔʁ kə\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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