coup dur

\ku dyʁ\

/\ku dyʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Épreuve pénible à supporter, souvent imprévue.

Key facts for coup dur
PropertyValue
Headwordcoup dur
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku dyʁ\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “coup dur” sits in French frequency

coup dur 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 dur is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ku dyʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Épreuve pénible à supporter, souvent imprévue.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for coup dur in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is coup dur, spelled C-O-U-P- -D-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Épreuve pénible à supporter, souvent imprévue.

This word in other languages

hard hit(English)

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 dur"?
"coup dur" is spelled C-O-U-P- -D-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ku dyʁ\.
What does "coup dur" mean?
As a noun, "coup dur" means: Épreuve pénible à supporter, souvent imprévue.
How do you pronounce "coup dur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coup dur" is \ku dyʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "coup dur" come from?
"coup dur" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 dur”

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

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