prendre un coup

\pʁɑ̃.dʁ‿œ̃ ku\

/\pʁɑ̃.dʁ‿œ̃ ku\/ verb

The verdict

“prendre un coup” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Boire de l’alcool en cherchant l’ébriété, s’enivrer.

Key facts for prendre un coup
PropertyValue
Headwordprendre un coup
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pʁɑ̃.dʁ‿œ̃ ku\
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prendre un coup” sits in French frequency

prendre un coup 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for prendre un coup is 15 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pʁɑ̃.dʁ‿œ̃ ku\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Boire de l’alcool en cherchant l’ébriété, s’enivrer.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for prendre un coup, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, 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 is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is prendre un coup, spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -U-N- -C-O-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Boire de l’alcool en cherchant l’ébriété, s’enivrer.

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 "prendre un coup"?
"prendre un coup" is spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -U-N- -C-O-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is \pʁɑ̃.dʁ‿œ̃ ku\.
What does "prendre un coup" mean?
As a verb, "prendre un coup" means: Boire de l’alcool en cherchant l’ébriété, s’enivrer.
How do you pronounce "prendre un coup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prendre un coup" is \pʁɑ̃.dʁ‿œ̃ ku\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "prendre un coup" come from?
"prendre un coup" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “prendre un coup”

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

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