alors que

\a.lɔʁ kə\

/\a.lɔʁ kə\/ conj

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 September 3, 2026) - Lorsque, au moment où.

Corpus desk

Index FR-alors-que · alors que · French

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

Longue queue: rang de « alors que » en français

alors quereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. À l'automne 2016, alors que ma retraite était imminente, j'ai donné une dernière fois les cours FR 331.
  2. Le gouvernement fédéral a transporté des centaines de demandeurs d’asile en Ontario alors que les médias québécois ont souligné le manque de logements à Montréal pour les nouveaux arrivants.

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.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list