après coup

\a.pʁɛ ku\

/\a.pʁɛ ku\/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“après coup” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Après qu’un événement est arrivé ou qu’une chose est faite.

Key facts for après coup
PropertyValue
Headwordaprès coup
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a.pʁɛ ku\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “après coup” sits in French frequency

après coup falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for après coup is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.pʁɛ ku\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for après coup, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is après coup, spelled A-P-R-È-S- -C-O-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Après qu’un événement est arrivé ou qu’une chose est faite.
  2. 2
    Postérieurement ; ultérieurement.

Synonyms

a posterioriaprèsensuitepar aprèsultérieurementex postex post facto

This word in other languages

afterwards(English)afinal(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "après coup"?
"après coup" is spelled A-P-R-È-S- -C-O-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is \a.pʁɛ ku\.
What does "après coup" mean?
As an adverb, "après coup" means: Après qu’un événement est arrivé ou qu’une chose est faite.
How do you pronounce "après coup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "après coup" is \a.pʁɛ ku\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "après coup" come from?
"après coup" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “après coup”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-P-R-È-S- -C-O-U-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.pʁɛ ku\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list