de.
from (used to indicate origin)
Meaning & usage
from (used to indicate origin)
Elle vient de France.
Ce fromage vient d’Espagne.
of (indicates possession, association or relationship)
Paris est la capitale de la France.
Œuvres de Fermat
of (used to indicate cause)
mourir de faim
trembler de peur
of (indicates an amount)
5 kilos de pommes.
Un verre de vin
used attributively, often translated into English as a compound word
un jus d'orange
un verre de vin
from (used to indicate the start of a time or range)
De 9:00 à 11:00 je ne serai pas libre.
Je travaille de huit heures à midi.
by (an amount)
Boire trois tasses par jour réduirait de 20 % les risques de contracter une maladie.
Je le dépasse de cinq centimètres.
introduces the indirect object of some verbs; variously translated in English
On parlait de notre prochain voyage.
Ils nous privent de nos libertés.
used before infinitive phrases; often corresponding to an English to-infinitive or gerund: after certain verbs
J’ai arrêté de fumer.
Il continue de m’embêter.
used before infinitive phrases; often corresponding to an English to-infinitive or gerund: after a noun, expressing possessive-like association to that noun
l'heure de partir
le désir de la revoir
used before infinitive phrases; often corresponding to an English to-infinitive or gerund: after certain adjectives
Je suis content d'être rentré.
used before infinitive phrases; often corresponding to an English to-infinitive or gerund: after impersonal constructions, with il or ce/ça as the subject referring back to the infinitive phrase
Il est important de le préciser
Ce fut un plaisir de faire votre connaissance.
used before infinitive phrases; often corresponding to an English to-infinitive or gerund: optionally when following a predicative verb
L'important, c'est de participer.
Le mieux reste d'y aller demain.
used before infinitive phrases; often corresponding to an English to-infinitive or gerund: in narration, introduces an action made by a character, especially as part of a dialogue
Et tout le monde de rire.
used before attributive adjectives: modifying indefinite and interrogative pronouns, pronominal phrases and other non-nominal substantives
Vous avez vu quelqu'un d'autre?
sous le soleil, rien de nouveau
used before attributive adjectives: past participles modifying indefinite noun phrases in a passive voice construction with the auxiliary omitted
Voilà une bonne chose de faite !
un de perdu, dix de retrouvés
used before attributive adjectives: used in miscellaneous idiomatic phrases
pour de vrai
pour de bon
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Old French de Middle French de French de Inherited from Middle French de, from Old French de, from Latin dē, from Proto-Italic *dē, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₁, from *de + *-h₁.
Used in the plural with prepositioned adjectives.
Ce sont de bons enfants.
Il y a d’autres exemples.
Used in negated sentences with the grammatical object.
Elle n’a pas de mère.
Il ne mange pas de viande.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Old French de Middle French de French de Inherited from Middle French de, from Old French de, from Latin dē, from Proto-Italic *dē, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₁, from *de + *-h₁.
abbreviation of dame
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.