coup de grâce
\ku də ɡʁɑs\
The verdict
“coup de grâce” 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) - Le dernier coup que l’exécuteur donne à un supplicié afin de terminer ses souffrances.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | coup de grâce |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ku də ɡʁɑs\ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “coup de grâce” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
coup de grâce is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ku də ɡʁɑs\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
coup de grâce has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is coup de grâce, spelled C-O-U-P- -D-E- -G-R-Â-C-E.
Definition
- 1Le dernier coup que l’exécuteur donne à un supplicié afin de terminer ses souffrances.
- 2Coup donné par un chasseur, un boucher à une bête blessée pour l’achever.
- 3Ce qui achève de perdre, de ruiner quelqu’un.
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
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Using “coup de grâce”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-O-U-P- -D-E- -G-R-Â-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ku də ɡʁɑs\ (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.