Level B2 (Intermediate)
The French word of the Day are ailleurs vs. d’ailleurs, which have very different meanings. Ailleurs means ‘elsewhere’. D’ailleurs has many translations including ‘yet’, ‘for that matter’, ‘incidentally’ and ‘moreover’.
ailleurs / d’ailleurs – IPA pronunciation /a.jœʁ, da.jœʁ/
Ailleurs vs. d’ailleurs explained
Ailleurs – elsewhere
Simply put, ailleurs translates to ‘elsewhere’ or ‘somewhere else’. Ne…plus is an advanced negation meaning ‘no longer’ or ‘anymore’.
Va ailleurs ! Tu ne peux plus rester ici.
Go somewhere else! You can’t stay here anymore.
The expression avoir la tête ailleurs means “to have your head elsewhere”, “to have your mind on other things” or “to be in your own little world”.
Je pense qu’il a la tête ailleurs.
I think he’s got his mind on other things.
D’ailleurs usages
Now let’s have a look at d’ailleurs. As mentioned, d’ailleurs has a completely different meaning, with several translations including ‘for that matter’, ‘by the way’, ‘incidentally’ and ‘moreover’.
Vous avez fait beaucoup de progrès. D’ailleurs, on espère que vous continuerez à faire des progrès !
You made a lot of progress. For that matter, we hope you’ll continue making progress!
Julie est très belle, et elle est très intelligente d’ailleurs !
Julie is very beautiful and very intelligent for that matter.
Moi non plus, d’ailleurs.
Me neither, for that matter.
Continue learning French!
Now you have a much clearer understanding of ailleurs vs. d’ailleurs, have a look at our post covering the word d’accord (okay, agreed), another French word that can cause confusion.
