en avance

\ɑ̃.na.vɑ̃s\

/\ɑ̃.na.vɑ̃s\/ adv

The verdict

“en avance” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. 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) - Avant le moment qui était prévu ou prévisible.

Corpus desk

Index FR-en-avance · en avance · French

en avance · 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 "E" 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 en avance
PropertyValue
Headworden avance
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\ɑ̃.na.vɑ̃s\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « en avance » en français

en avancereste 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

en avance is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \ɑ̃.na.vɑ̃s\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for en avance in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, 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 is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is en avance, spelled E-N- -A-V-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Avant le moment qui était prévu ou prévisible.
  2. 2
    Par anticipation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Il était huit heures et il était en avance d'une demi-heure car le train n'arrivait qu'à la demie.
  2. Cette montre est en avance d'une heure: elle avance d'une heure.

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 "en avance"?
"en avance" is spelled E-N- -A-V-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃.na.vɑ̃s\.
What does "en avance" mean?
As an adverb, "en avance" means: Avant le moment qui était prévu ou prévisible.
How do you pronounce "en avance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "en avance" is \ɑ̃.na.vɑ̃s\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "en avance" come from?
"en avance" 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