coup dur

\ku dyʁ\

/\ku dyʁ\/ noun

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 September 3, 2026) - Épreuve pénible à supporter, souvent imprévue.

Corpus desk

Index FR-coup-dur · coup dur · French

coup dur · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 dur
PropertyValue
Headwordcoup dur
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku dyʁ\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « coup dur » en français

coup durreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mais oui… seulement voilà… tu auras toujours des coups durs, avec les femmes, avec les affaires, toujours… Tu n’es pas démerdeur.
  2. La pauvre ! La pauvre ! répète la femme de journée, veuve qui a perdu trois enfants et dont la compassion s'allie à ce merveilleux sang-froid des êtres qui n'ont eu que des coups durs dans la vie.

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 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list