beaucoup

Beaucoup is a French adverb meaning “a lot” or “much.” It is used to indicate a large degree or quantity and can modify verbs (j’aime beaucoup, il parle beaucoup) or intensify the sense of an action. It can also form phrases such as beaucoup plus, meaning “much more,” to express greater extent.

When describing a noun, beaucoup is followed by de: beaucoup de gens, beaucoup de travail. Before a vowel or a silent h, de becomes d’: beaucoup d’idées, beaucoup d’amis. This construction is used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Be careful not to use beaucoup directly before a noun without de; in most cases you need the de/d’ construction to express quantity.

Beaucoup is invariable; it does not change with gender or number. It can appear in negative contexts as ne… pas beaucoup to mean “not much” or “not very much.” In everyday speech, beaucoup is extremely common in both spoken and written French and is often preferred for its direct, natural feel.

Pronunciation is typically approximated in English as “BOH-koo,” with two syllables and the stress on the second. The word originates in French and has been in use since the Middle French period; its exact historical development is not fully settled.

Translations into English are primarily “a lot” or “much.” In usage, beaucoup is a versatile intensifier for actions and quantities, and its de/d’ construction before nouns is a key grammatical pattern in French.