beaucoup
/bo.ku/
To say plenty in French, meaning a more than adequate amount, use beaucoup.
beaucoup covers plenty and a lot. Before a noun, use beaucoup de, for example plenty of friends. Informally, French also says un tas de for plenty of or a bunch of.
Meaning: a more-than-adequate amount (noun)
Which one should you use?
beaucoup means a large or ample amount. trop means an excessive amount, too much or too many.
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring back to something already mentioned, put the pronoun en before the verb, as in en avoir beaucoup, to have plenty of it.
How do you pronounce it?
beaucoup is pronounced /bo.ku/, in two syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often say beaucoup des when they mean plenty of. Use beaucoup de instead.
Did you know?
- The word beaucoup literally translates to 'a beautiful hit' or 'a good strike'.
- The word beaucoup has been borrowed directly into English, where it is sometimes used in Southern United States slang to mean 'a large amount'.
- French has a specific distinction between a positive amount beaucoup and an excessive amount trop, whereas English often uses 'a lot' for both.
Examples in context
- Tom a déjà beaucoup bu.Tom has had plenty to drink already.Here beaucoup after the verb means plenty to drink.Tatoeba #5116702 by gege_veggie, translation #2956907 by CK
- Nous en avons beaucoup.We have plenty.en avons beaucoup uses en for plenty of it.Tatoeba #8540591 by Whidou, translation #2241113 by CK
- Elle a beaucoup d'amis.She has plenty of friends.beaucoup d'amis means plenty of friends.Tatoeba #8976879 by Aiji, translation #7924248 by AlanF_US
- Il y a beaucoup de travail à faire.There is plenty of work to do.
- J'ai beaucoup de livres dans ma bibliothèque.I have plenty of books in my library.
- Il y a un tas de problèmes dans cette situation.There are plenty of problems in this situation.
- J'ai acheté un tas de bonbons pour la fête.I bought plenty of candies for the party.
- 63 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan are preparing for a large dinner party.
- EmmaEst-ce qu'on a assez de pain ?Do we have enough bread?
- NathanOui, il y a beaucoup de pain.Yes, there is plenty of bread.
- EmmaNathan, tu as acheté des boissons ?Nathan, did you buy drinks?
- NathanNe t'inquiète pas, j'en ai acheté beaucoup.Don't worry, I bought plenty.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry beaucoup, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries beaucoup, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
