en un clin d’œil

\ɑ̃.n‿œ̃ klɛ̃ d‿œj\

/\ɑ̃.n‿œ̃ klɛ̃ d‿œj\/ adv

The verdict

“en un clin d’œil” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - En un moment ; en très peu de temps.

Corpus desk

Index FR-en-un-clin-d-il · en un clin d’œil · French

en un clin d’œil · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-5 5 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 un clin d’œil
PropertyValue
Headworden un clin d’œil
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\ɑ̃.n‿œ̃ klɛ̃ d‿œj\
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « en un clin d’œil » en français

en un clin d’œiln'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

en un clin d’œil is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \ɑ̃.n‿œ̃ klɛ̃ d‿œj\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "En un moment ; en très peu de temps.".

en un clin d’œil doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is en un clin d’œil, spelled E-N- -U-N- -C-L-I-N- -D-’-Œ-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    En un moment ; en très peu de temps.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. En un clin d’œil La Mole écarta les aiguillettes de son pourpoint, et tira de sa poitrine une lettre enfermée dans une enveloppe de soie.
  2. Pendant de longs siècles, la maison resta bien fragile. […] Les incendies fréquents, calamités de l’ancienne France, dévoraient des villages en un clin d’œil […]

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 un clin d’œil"?
"en un clin d’œil" is spelled E-N- -U-N- -C-L-I-N- -D-’-Œ-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃.n‿œ̃ klɛ̃ d‿œj\.
What does "en un clin d’œil" mean?
As an adverb, "en un clin d’œil" means: En un moment ; en très peu de temps.
How do you pronounce "en un clin d’œil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "en un clin d’œil" is \ɑ̃.n‿œ̃ klɛ̃ d‿œj\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "en un clin d’œil" come from?
"en un clin d’œil" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list