du coup

\dy ku\

/\dy ku\/ adv

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - À la suite de quoi ; aussitôt.

Corpus desk

Index FR-du-coup · du coup · French

du coup · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" 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 du coup
PropertyValue
Headworddu coup
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\dy ku\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « du coup » en français

du coupn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

du coup is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \dy ku\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for du coup in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is du coup, spelled D-U- -C-O-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    À la suite de quoi ; aussitôt.
  2. 2
    Par cette circonstance ; par cette occasion ; de ce fait.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Seulement, il devait ensuite se battre contre des embus terribles, car ses toiles absorbantes buvaient du coup le peu d’huile des couleurs.
  2. Il n’en revenait pas, et du coup, il avait été chercher tous les officiers de la batterie ; le soir, le veinard de cousin avait eu un supplément de rata et une double ration d’eau-de-vie.

Synonyms

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 "du coup"?
"du coup" is spelled D-U- -C-O-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is \dy ku\.
What does "du coup" mean?
As an adverb, "du coup" means: À la suite de quoi ; aussitôt.
How do you pronounce "du coup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "du coup" is \dy ku\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "du coup" come from?
"du coup" 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