What Is the Là- French Prefix?

Learn how this adverbial prefix is appropriately used

2 young women visiting Paris — Catherine Delahaye / Getty Images

Updated on January 05, 2020

The adverbial French prefix là- can be added to certain adverbs of place to mean "there" or "that." The opposite of là- is ci-, which means "here" or "this."

Adverbs Where là- Can Be Added

This is the complete list:

là-haut	up there
là-bas	down there, over there
là-dessus	on top of that
là-dessous	under that
là-devant	in front of that
là-derrière	behind that
là-dedans	inside that
là-dehors	outside (of) that

Là- can also be added to one other adverb:

là-même
right there, in that very place

Note: As it can only be added to adverbs, là- is less flexible than its antonym ci-.

Grammatical Agreement

There is never any agreement with the adverbs attached to là-.

Qui est cette fille là-bas?
Who is that girl over there?
J'ai trouvé les clés là-haut.
I found the keys up there.