governance
/ˈɡʌvəɹnəns/noun
governance is spelled G-O-V-E-R-N-A-N-C-E. The wrong spelling people search most is goverance: about 100 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 26 of all searches for the word. Governance is a noun meaning “The process, or the power, of governing; government or administration”. The plural of governance is governances.
How many letters and syllables are in governance?
| Letters | 10: G-O-V-E-R-N-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, goverance, about 100 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell governance?
Governance is spelled G-O-V-E-R-N-A-N-C-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 26 of the searches for governance in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is governance?
Governance appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce governance?
- UK /ˈɡʌvənəns/
- US /ˈɡʌvəɹnəns/
Governance has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-governance.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Microchip08-governance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of governance
- governances plural
- gouvernance
- gouvernaunce
- governaunce
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does governance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process, or the power, of governing; government or administration.
- 2
The specific system by which a political system is ruled.
- 3
The group of people who make up an administrative body.
- 4
The state of being governed.
- 5
Accountability for consistent, cohesive policies, processes and decision rights.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Governance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gouvernance , direction |
| German | Regieren, Regierungsgewalt, Regierungsführung, Führung, Staatsführung, Herrschen |
| Portuguese | governança |
| Spanish | gobernanza |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does governance come from?
From Middle English governaunce, from Old French gouvernance, governance, equivalent to govern + -ance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).