Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| à la place | /a la plas/ |
| au lieu de | /o ljø də/ |
| plutôt | /ply.to/ |
Au lieu de acts as a preposition to introduce the thing being replaced and plutôt is used to express a preference.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase au lieu de literally means 'at the place of'.
Which one should you use?
À la place is often used at the end of a sentence to mean 'instead'. In contrast, au lieu de is used to introduce the specific thing being replaced. While à la place indicates a substitution of one thing for another, plutôt is used when expressing a preference for one thing over another.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase au lieu de must be followed by either a noun or an infinitive verb.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes use plutôt to mean 'instead' in a sense of substitution. However, plutôt is more accurately translated as 'rather' when you are expressing a preference.
Did you know?
- While plutôt is used to say 'rather', its structure reveals it is a contraction of 'plus' and 'tôt', literally meaning 'more early'.
- The expression au lieu de is a direct descendant of a phrase used by the Roman orator Cicero over two thousand years ago to describe being 'in the place of' someone.
- French distinguishes between substitution and preference, whereas English often uses 'instead' for both, meaning a literal translation of 'instead' can sound slightly unnatural to a native speaker.
Examples in context
- Agis au lieu de causer !Act instead of talking.Tatoeba #3625652 by sacredceltic, translation #5164812 by Zaksocool
- Jouons plutôt aux cartes.Let's play cards instead.Tatoeba #13880855 by zogwarg, translation #45531 by CK
- Que proposes-tu à la place ?What do you propose instead?Tatoeba #7781685 by Rockaround, translation #3823544 by CK
- Si tu n'as pas de lait, mets du beurre à la rigueurIf you don't have milk, use butter instead
- J'ai acheté le livre en français à la place de l'édition anglaise.I bought the book in French instead of the English edition.
- J'ai décidé de prendre une pause déjeuner, à la place de continuer à travailler.I decided to take a lunch break instead of continuing to work.
- 160 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are deciding what to eat for lunch.
- HugoOn mange des pâtes ce soir ?Shall we eat pasta tonight?
- EmmaNon, prenons une pizza à la place.No, let's have a pizza instead.
- HugoD'accord, une pizza me convient.Okay, a pizza works for me.
- EmmaSuper, je vais la commander.Great, I will order it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “instead” translations and entries à la place, au lieu de, plutôt, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries au lieu de, de, la, lieu, place, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
