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How to pronounce coup

Coup is pronounced KOO, with one syllable. The p is silent, so it rhymes with who and blue. American and British English say it the same way.

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  • 1 syllable
  • Stress on KOO
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

coup

One syllable

noun · a sudden, clever success, or the sudden taking of power from a government

  1. KOOkuː (stressed)
  • US /kuː/KOO Recorded voice
  • UK /kuː/KOO Your device’s voice

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. The recording is American English.

Coup, sound by sound

Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.

USUK American and British English/kuː/

  1. KOOstressed

    • /k/as in cat
    • /uː/as in too

Say coup yourself

Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes coup, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.

Tip. The p is silent. Say KOO, like coo. Do not say a p at the end.

Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.

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coup

    Common coup pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say KOO.

    • NotKOOP

      Saying the p. The word ends on the vowel.

    • NotKOWP

      Reading ou as in out. In this French word it is oo.

    • NotKUP

      Using the u of cup, and saying the p. The vowel is long oo.

    Coup in a sentence

    Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.

    • The army planned a coup against the government.

    • Getting that job was a real coup for her.

    • The new shop was a coup for the town.

    Is the p in coup silent?

    Yes. The p is silent: KOO. French words that end in a silent consonant keep that spelling in English, as in debut, ballet and depot.

    Coup is French for a blow or a stroke. It was borrowed again into English in modern times, and it is the first part of coup d'état, said KOO day-TAH, a sudden takeover of a government.

    Outside that phrase, coup means a great success, as in a real coup for the company. Make the vowel long and round your lips, then stop. No p, no s, and no extra sound.

    Words that sound like coup

    Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.

    More words from other languages

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