coude
/kud/masculine
The English word "elbow" is coude in French.
coude is the masculine noun used to refer to the joint between the upper arm and the forearm. There are several common idioms involving this word: jouer des coudes means to elbow one's way through a crowd or to use aggressive tactics to get ahead. donner un coup de coude à quelqu'un describes nudging someone by giving them an elbow blow. And coude à coude means "elbow to elbow," which is used to describe people working closely together.
Meaning: joint between upper arm and forearm (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to say you have pain in the elbow, use the contraction au coude (which is a combination of à and le coude). For example, you would say avoir mal au coude.
How do you pronounce it?
/kud/
Did you know?
- French has a distinct word for 'elbow' that is shared with the Latin root for 'lying down', as the 'cubitus' was the part of the arm that rested on the ground when reclining.
- The French word coude descends from the Latin cubitum. This same root gave English the word 'cubit', an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the fingertip.
- While coude à coude means working together, it is also the standard term used in sports broadcasting to describe a dead heat or a tie between two competitors.
Examples in context
- Tom m'a touché le coude.Tom touched my elbow.This sentence shows how to use coude to indicate being touched.Tatoeba #11896952 by zogwarg, translation #5941952 by Hybrid
- J'ai encore mal au coude.My elbow still hurts.This sentence demonstrates how to express having pain in the coude.Tatoeba #7695520 by Maxence, translation #3436691 by CK
- Il s'est écorché le coude.He skinned his elbow.This sentence shows how to describe an injury to the coude.Tatoeba #12295866 by lbdx, translation #7386133 by CH
- J'ai mal au coudeI have elbow pain
- Je lui ai donné un coup de coude pour lui indiquer de se taireI nudged him with my elbow to tell him to be quiet
- Ils ont travaillé coude à coude pour terminer le projet à tempsThey worked closely together to finish the project on time
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
In a kitchen while cooking.
- HugoTu as de la farine sur le coude.You have flour on your elbow.
- LéaOh, merci de me le dire, Hugo.Oh, thanks for telling me, Hugo.
- HugoEst-ce que tu as mal au coude ?Does your elbow hurt?
- LéaNon, ça va, tout va bien.No, it's fine, everything is okay.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “elbow” translations and entries coude, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries coude, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
