What does du coup mean in French?

Du coup literally means "of the blow," but in modern French it is a commonly used filler word meaning "so" or "as a result."

How do you pronounce du coup?

Du coup is pronounced /dy ku/ in IPA, sounding like "dyoo koo" in English. The final "p" in coup is silent.

Is du coup formal or informal?

Du coup is informal and used mainly in spoken French. It often appears in casual conversations to connect ideas or fill pauses.

What are English equivalents of du coup?

Depending on context, du coup can translate as "so," "anyway," or "well then."

Du coup in French — Meaning, Usage, Everyday Examples

👉 See also: Coup (hit, blow) – Word of the Day »

🎧 Audio by Marie Assel Cambier — native speaker & pro voice artist from France

Level B1 (Lower Intermediate)

The French Word of the Day is du coup. You’ll hear it constantly in conversations — but what does it actually mean, and why do the French use it so much?

✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons

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Du coup — so, as a result — French Word of the Day

📘 Du coup meaning

Du coup translates literally to “of the blow,” but in casual everyday French it really means “so” or “as a result.” It’s widely used as a filler to connect ideas, fill pauses, and keep conversation flowing.

When used as a filler, the closest English equivalents are:

so → Du coup, on part à quelle heure ? → “So, what time are we leaving?”
anyway → Du coup, je lui ai expliqué. → “Anyway, I explained it to him.”
well then / then → Du coup, on se revoit demain. → “Well then, we’ll see each other tomorrow.”

🎧 Du coup pronunciation

Du coup is pronounced /dy ku/ in IPA. It sounds like “dyoo koo” in English. The “u” in du is the same as in tu (you), and the final “p” in coup is silent.

📝 French and English examples

Du coup – so, as a result

J’ai sommeil. Du coup, je vais faire une sieste.
I’m sleepy. So, I’m going to take a nap.

J’ai eu un problème avec ma boîte vocale et du coup, j’ai pas vu ton message.
I had a problem with my voicemail and as a result didn’t see your message.

Zut ! Le restaurant est fermé ! On mange quoi du coup ?
Shoot! The restaurant is closed. So, what are we doing to eat?

Je n’avais pas envie de travailler. Du coup, je suis sorti faire du sport.
I didn’t want to work. So, I went out to exercise.

Du coup, on fait quoi ce weekend?
So, what are we doing this weekend?

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🪶 Expression origin

The expression du coup literally means “from the blow” and originally came from contexts like boxing. For example: Le boxeur est tombé du coup de son adversaire (The boxer fell from his opponent’s punch). Over time, the phrase shifted from this literal sense to the figurative meaning “so, as a result.”

donc — so, therefore
alors — so, then
en fait — actually, in fact
bref — in short
et du coup — and so

Now that you’ve mastered du coup, check out my lesson on voilà — another high-frequency “glue” word French speakers use to keep conversations moving.

David Issokson Founder & French Teacher at FrenchLearner.com

David Issokson is the founder of FrenchLearner.com, where he’s been helping students master French through vocabulary, grammar, and cultural lessons since 2012.

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