French word

devant

Pronunciation

IPA/dəvɑ̃/

Meaning

  • prepositionin front of ___

Example

Il y a un banc devant la maison.

There is a bench in front of the house.

Illustration for devant (in front of ___)

More examples

Elle attend devant l'école.

She waits in front of the school.

Core concept

A reference point has something positioned in the space immediately before it or on its facing side.

Common phrases

  • devant la maison

    in front of the house

  • devant le magasin

    in front of the store

Similar words

à côté de: Next to and alongside a person or thing.
en face de: Directly facing or opposite a person or thing.
près de: Close to a person or thing.
derrière: Behind a person or thing.

Definition in French

Sert à situer quelque chose ou quelqu'un à la partie antérieure d'un lieu, par rapport à un repère.

Word origin

The French preposition devant is inherited from Old French devant, a form built from de and avant, whose deeper source is Latin ab ante.

Usage tips

  • The final t in devant is silent, and the ending -ant has a nasal vowel rather than a pronounced n.

Other meanings

  • aheadadverb
  • before ___preposition

Opposites

Related words

  • devantureshopfrontnoun

Word lists with this word