de temps en temps

\də.tɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃\

/\də.tɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃\/ adv

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

The verdict

“de temps en temps” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - De fois à autre ; quelquefois.

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

Where “de temps en temps” sits in French frequency

de temps en temps 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for de temps en temps is 17 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \də.tɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "De fois à autre ; quelquefois.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for de temps en temps in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. 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 documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is de temps en temps, spelled D-E- -T-E-M-P-S- -E-N- -T-E-M-P-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    De fois à autre ; quelquefois.

Synonyms

de moment en momentde temps à autre

This word in other languages

from time to time(English)de vez en cuando(Español)ab und zu(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 "de temps en temps"?
"de temps en temps" is spelled D-E- -T-E-M-P-S- -E-N- -T-E-M-P-S. The IPA pronunciation is \də.tɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃\.
What does "de temps en temps" mean?
As an adverb, "de temps en temps" means: De fois à autre ; quelquefois.
How do you pronounce "de temps en temps"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "de temps en temps" is \də.tɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "de temps en temps" come from?
"de temps en temps" 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 “de temps en temps”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is D-E- -T-E-M-P-S- -E-N- -T-E-M-P-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \də.tɑ̃.z‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃\ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list