coup de froid

\ku də fʁwa\

/\ku də fʁwa\/ noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Refroidissement soudain des températures.

Key facts for coup de froid
PropertyValue
Headwordcoup de froid
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku də fʁwa\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “coup de froid” sits in French frequency

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

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for coup de froid, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

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 froid, spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -F-R-O-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Refroidissement soudain des températures.
  2. 2
    Rhume (maladie attrapée lors d’un coup de froid).
  3. 3
    Dégradation dans les relations.

This word in other languages

Kälteeinbruch(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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "coup de froid"?
"coup de froid" is spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -F-R-O-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is \ku də fʁwa\.
What does "coup de froid" mean?
As a noun, "coup de froid" means: Refroidissement soudain des températures.
How do you pronounce "coup de froid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coup de froid" is \ku də fʁwa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "coup de froid" come from?
"coup de froid" 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 “coup de froid”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-U-P- -D-E- -F-R-O-I-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ku də fʁwa\ (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