de moins en moins

\də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃\

/\də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃\/ adv

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - En reculant, en régressant, en diminuant ou en déclinant.

Key facts for de moins en moins
PropertyValue
Headwordde moins en moins
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃\
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “de moins en moins” sits in French frequency

de moins en moins 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

de moins en moins is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

de moins en moins has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is de moins en moins, spelled D-E- -M-O-I-N-S- -E-N- -M-O-I-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    En reculant, en régressant, en diminuant ou en déclinant.
  2. 2
    Un nombre décroissant de, une quantité décroissante de.

Antonyms

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 "de moins en moins"?
"de moins en moins" is spelled D-E- -M-O-I-N-S- -E-N- -M-O-I-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is \də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃\.
What does "de moins en moins" mean?
As an adverb, "de moins en moins" means: En reculant, en régressant, en diminuant ou en déclinant.
How do you pronounce "de moins en moins"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "de moins en moins" is \də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "de moins en moins" come from?
"de moins en moins" 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.

Using “de moins en moins”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is D-E- -M-O-I-N-S- -E-N- -M-O-I-N-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃\ (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