Published May 29, 2024 • Updated July 5, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Coucou — Meaning and Pronunciation
Coucou is an informal French greeting meaning “hi” or “hey.” It is friendly, warm and slightly playful, and is often used with friends, family, children or people you know well.
IPA pronunciation of coucou is /ku.ku/ (IPA), which sounds like “koo-koo”.
Example Sentences
Coucou, Mathilde ! C’est moi !
Hi, Mathilde! It’s me!
Coucou — other meanings
Marc fait une collection d’horloges à coucou.
Marc has a collection of cuckoo clocks.
Le Coucou gris est une espèce d’oiseau.
The Common cuckoo is a bird species.
Learn the “real” spoken French!
🎯 À Moi Paris — My favorite French course for improving listening and spoken French.
👉 Explore À Moi Paris »
👉 Read my review »
If you purchase the courses, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.
👉 Next lesson: Salut (hi, bye)
Related words and expressions
- bonjour — hello / good morning / good afternoon
- bonsoir — good evening
- ça va ? — how’s it going?
- tiens ! — hey!
- rebonjour — hello again
- allô — hello on the phone
- ça fait longtemps ! — long time no see!
📚 Related lessons
🚀 Continue learning on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day (200+ lessons) »
👉 French verb conjugations »
👉 French vocabulary lists »
👉 French song lyrics »
👉 French grammar lessons »
