de loin
\də lwɛ̃\
The verdict
“de 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) - D’un endroit éloigné (relativement à un point déterminé).
Corpus desk
Index FR-de-loin · de loin · French
de loin · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" 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 | de loin |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \də lwɛ̃\ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « de loin » en français
Rare enough to double-check
de loin is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \də lwɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
de loin doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is de loin, spelled D-E- -L-O-I-N.
Definition
- 1D’un endroit éloigné (relativement à un point déterminé).
- 2D’une période éloignée du moment présent.
- 3Largement, loin s’en faut.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how de loin appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Le chat gris, un peu sauvage, nous regardait de loin, à travers la balustrade de l’escalier au fond, sans oser descendre.
Ils avaient terminé leur repas et sirotaient un café-filtre, en regardant de loin le mouvement de la rue.
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.