LingoDrop
French · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "beaucoup" in French?
boh-KOO — two rounded vowels, and the final "p" is silent.
beau-COUP, weight on the second syllable. The word is a compound of "beau" and "coup" — literally "a fine blow" — which is why both halves keep full, rounded vowels.
Listen: beaucoup
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Il travaille beaucoup.
He works a lot.
Listen: Il travaille beaucoup.
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"Il travaille beaucoup" places the adverb after the verb, which is where French puts short adverbs of quantity. "Travaille" ends in a "y" sound from the "-aill-" spelling: tra-VYE. The whole sentence has just four syllables and ends on the long "oo", which is where the pitch peaks.
Where English speakers slip
English speakers pronounce the final "p", giving "bo-COOP", and often flatten the first vowel because "eau" looks like it should do something more complicated. Both vowels are simple and rounded: "oh" then "oo". Note also that "beaucoup de" is the form before a noun — "beaucoup de gens", never "beaucoup des gens" in the general sense.