Well this is a nice thing to find out.

[RecklessAbaddon]

I've been saying coup de grâce right all along. And everyone that corrected me was wrong all along.

Anyone else have people insist that the was "Coo dah Grah"?

[Heliomance]

Everyone I know says it "coup de gras". EVERYONE. I've even had some argue that evolution of language and English being defined by the majority means that that's now the correct term even if it wasn't before.

[Cobra_Ikari]

...doesn't "coup de gras" mean "fat punch" or something?

[valadil]

Anyone else have people insist that the was "Coo dah Grah"?

We go with that or coo day grah.

[Mad Mask]

Coup de gras can either mean a fat person's strike or the act of striking something with fat. As a francophone, it's funny when someone says it that way. And "Coo day grah" (coup des gras) only means "strike of the overweight".

The correct way to say it is indeed "coo-de-grahce".

[Heliomance]

Is that a long or a short a? I tend to pronounce it with a short a, like in apple.

[Mad Mask]

Depends on the accent. The "^" originally meant it was supposed to be pronounced with a long a, but only French Quebeckers care about them now. You can pronounce it both ways.

[RecklessAbaddon]

From what I've read/know Coup de Grace means "the blow that kills." or "The blow of mercy."

Everyone I knew always kept the S sound silent at tried to say I was doing it wrong though.

I just recently found out that the S is not silent and thought it was awesome. I say it Coo d Gras (Open your mouth and say ahhh sound).

Dunno if im right, someone french might have some more insight though. A cursory interweb machine search is what told me the S isn't silent.

[dehro]

it would be silent if it was indeed an S... it isn't ...it's grâce.. and the S sounds should be spoken
literally "hit of mercy"..what you give to an animal (or an enemy, back in the day) that is beyond any hope of survival, to relieve it in its/his final moments of extreme sufferance.
kuː də ˈɡrɑːs/ is the phonetic rendition.. as in coo deh grass

not french, but I do speak it reasonably well

[Riverdance]

"Coup de gras"- pronounced "coo d' grah" so far as I know. For other french pronunciations I give you:

Hors D'oeuvres (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1-ndsRPxbM)

Haute Couture (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-3RZl3YyJw&feature=relmfu)

Faux Pas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZVBTtX92Nc)

Rendezvous (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzX6jMalUck&feature=related)

Escargot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS2Y385vSWg)

Apologies. You will never get those hours of your life back.

[Wyntonian]

It's definitely Coup de Grace. It's not "strike of the fat (gras)", it's "strike of grace/mercy". If you're putting someone who's missing an arm, leg and digestive tract out of their misery, you're merciful, not chubby.

[Ravens_cry]

No reason it can't be both.:smalltongue:
I admit I know the right way, but the wrong way is stuck in my cerebellum.

[Grogmir]

I'm English, only a smattering of french.

its Coo dah Grah or Coo de Grah. Never heard 'Grace' or anything like that. But IIRC that is an over compensation for us UKers to sound more 'french'. Oh wiki backs me up

onunciationIPA: /ku də ɡrɑs/
IPA: /ku də ɡrɑː/ (hyperforeign)—Some English speakers, aware that some final consonants are dropped in French, overcompensate by dropping the final /s/ sound in grâce, making this sound like French coup de gras (“stroke of grease”). This mispronunciation is quickly becoming ubiquitous and is being popularized by the media (e.g., it occurs twice in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 2).

....

Lets even not get started on Lieutenant ;)

[Lord Loss]

Well I'm Québecois and in Quebec, it's pronounced Coup (like the word neck in french, silent p that is to say, I guess Coo sounds pretty much the same) De (Pronouncing the e low pitched so a poper ''de'' not ''di') Grâce (So like Gr-ah-ss). So that's how french canadians pronounce it, I would hazard a guess that it's pronounced similarly in France.

[Eldan]

Actually, Wiki says that you do pronounce the "s" sound in "Grâce".

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Coo d'Grahss. Just say "grass" like you're attempting to be a snooty English aristocrat, and yer Golden.

Also

Coup d'Etat? Is pronounced "coo day-TAH".

[shawnhcorey]

Well I'm Québecois and in Quebec, it's pronounced Coup (like the word neck in french, silent p that is to say, I guess Coo sounds pretty much the same) De (Pronouncing the e low pitched so a poper ''de'' not ''di') Grâce (So like Gr-ah-ss). So that's how french canadians pronounce it, I would hazard a guess that it's pronounced similarly in France.


Actually, Wiki says that you do pronounce the "s" sound in "Grâce".

In French, you do not pronounce a consonant at the end of a word unless the next word starts with a vowel. So its' KOO, not KOOP. And by the same rule, the c is grâce is pronounced, making it GR-AH-SS.

I was taught that coup means hit and grâce means grace, so it becomes, "hit of grace."

PS: coup de gras would be pronounced KOO DEH GRAH.

[Traab]

I just pronounce it "finishing blow" is that close to the correct french?

[Goosefeather]

I pronounce it 'the mercy whack'.

We don't need none of your highfalutin' french shenanigans round here :smalltongue:


So its' KOO, not KOOP. And by the same rule, the c is grâce is pronounced, making it GR-AH-SS.


Your phonetic transciption looks like you intend 'grâce' to rhyme with a southern England 'grass', rather than a northern England 'grass' - in case that is what you meant, I have to correct you, as it rhymes with the latter. If not, we are in agreement and I misread you, apologies!

In summary, "coo'd grass", with 'grass' pronounced as if you were from Birmingham or Liverpool or one of those other God-forsaken Northern cities! :smalltongue:

[shawnhcorey]

In summary, "coo'd grass", with 'grass' pronounced as if you were from Birmingham or Liverpool or one of those other God-forsaken Northern cities! :smalltongue:

I'm in Canada. We pronounce it grass. :smallbiggrin:

[Lea Plath]

If it helps, I keep pronouncing things wrong, due to the fact I never learnt to read phonically. It just kinda came naturally.

[Aedilred]

Lets even not get started on Lieutenant ;)
In British (and presumably much of the rest of the Commonwealth) English I believe it's, strictly, "lef-tenant" in the army and "le-tenant" (or some approximation) in the navy (albeit hypercorrection means the latter pronunciation is hardly ever used). In American English I believe it's "loo-tenant" always.

I don't know where the difference in pronunciation came from, mind.

[grimbold]

Everyone I know says it "coup de gras". EVERYONE. I've even had some argue that evolution of language and English being defined by the majority means that that's now the correct term even if it wasn't before.

THIS

COO dEH Gras might be more phonetictastic though... that's what you get asking a french dude..