coup de foudre

\ku də fudʁ\

/\ku də fudʁ\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Phénomène physique marqué par l’impact de la foudre sur un objet ou un être vivant.

Corpus desk

Index FR-coup-de-foudre · coup de foudre · French

coup de foudre · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 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 foudre
PropertyValue
Headwordcoup de foudre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku də fudʁ\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « coup de foudre » en français

coup de foudresiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

coup de foudre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ku də fudʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for coup de foudre in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is coup de foudre, spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -F-O-U-D-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Phénomène physique marqué par l’impact de la foudre sur un objet ou un être vivant.
  2. 2
    Événement soudain et inattendu.
  3. 3
    Attrait passionné qui se déclare subitement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how coup de foudre appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] & il y périt d'une façon étonnante ; car la terre aiant été entrouverte par un coup de foudre, il fut englouti dans cet abyme avec son chariot.
  2. Cette pierre fut brisée par un coup de foudre en 1626.

This word in other languages

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 "coup de foudre"?
"coup de foudre" is spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -F-O-U-D-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ku də fudʁ\.
What does "coup de foudre" mean?
As a noun, "coup de foudre" means: Phénomène physique marqué par l’impact de la foudre sur un objet ou un être vivant.
How do you pronounce "coup de foudre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coup de foudre" is \ku də fudʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "coup de foudre" come from?
"coup de foudre" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list