coup de couteau

\ku də ku.to\

/\ku də ku.to\/ noun

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

The verdict

“coup de couteau” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action de poignarder avec un couteau.

Corpus desk

Index FR-coup-de-couteau · coup de couteau · French

coup de couteau · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-8 8 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for coup de couteau
PropertyValue
Headwordcoup de couteau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku də ku.to\
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “coup de couteau” sits in French frequency

coup de couteau 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.

Rare enough to double-check

coup de couteau is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ku də ku.to\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Action de poignarder avec un couteau.".

Zero misspellings are on record for coup de couteau in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is coup de couteau, spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -C-O-U-T-E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action de poignarder avec un couteau.

This word in other languages

stab(English)Messerstich(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "coup de couteau"?
"coup de couteau" is spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -C-O-U-T-E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \ku də ku.to\.
What does "coup de couteau" mean?
As a noun, "coup de couteau" means: Action de poignarder avec un couteau.
How do you pronounce "coup de couteau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coup de couteau" is \ku də ku.to\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "coup de couteau" come from?
"coup de couteau" 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.
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