au loin

\o lwɛ̃\

/\o lwɛ̃\/ adv

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - À une grande distance par rapport à ici.

Corpus desk

Index FR-au-loin · au loin · French

au loin · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 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 au loin
PropertyValue
Headwordau loin
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\o lwɛ̃\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « au loin » en français

au loinreste 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

au loin is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \o lwɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "À une grande distance par rapport à ici.".

Zero misspellings are on record for au loin in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is au loin, spelled A-U- -L-O-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    À une grande distance par rapport à ici.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Par la porte restée grande ouverte, le chant des psaumes s’envolait, traînait dans la prairie, passait sur les haies d’épine blanche, puis allait se perdre tout au loin sur la côte, parmi les sapins et les ruchers, ouverts au grand soleil.
  2. Mais ce n’est pas seulement cela, cette fanfare qui retentit dans les pierres de la ville… Quand j’étais petit, à là campagne où j’ai été élevé, j’entendais cette sonnerie, au loin, sur les chemins des bois et du château.

Synonyms

dans la distancedans le lointain

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 "au loin"?
"au loin" is spelled A-U- -L-O-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \o lwɛ̃\.
What does "au loin" mean?
As an adverb, "au loin" means: À une grande distance par rapport à ici.
How do you pronounce "au loin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "au loin" is \o lwɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "au loin" come from?
"au loin" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list