girouette

\ʒi.ʁwɛt\

/\ʒi.ʁwɛt\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“girouette” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #34,103 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#34,103
frequency rank, French
9
letters
10
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pièce de fer-blanc ou d’autre matière mince et légère, ordinairement en forme de flèche empennée ou de coq, qu’on pose sur un pivot en un lieu élevé (en général au faîte d’un édifice ou du mât d’un...

Key facts for girouette
PropertyValue
Headwordgirouette
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʒi.ʁwɛt\
Letters9
Frequency rank#34,103
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “girouette” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). girouette lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for girouette is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʒi.ʁwɛt\. Corpus data places it at rank #34,103 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for girouette, with forms such as "ggirouette", "gioruette", and "giroeutte". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is girouette, spelled G-I-R-O-U-E-T-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pièce de fer-blanc ou d’autre matière mince et légère, ordinairement en forme de flèche empennée ou de coq, qu’on pose sur un pivot en un lieu élevé (en général au faîte d’un édifice ou du mât d’un bateau) de manière qu’elle tourne au gré du vent et qu’elle en indique la direction.
  2. 2
    Position de sécurité d’une grue à tour, dans laquelle le bras de grue est libre de son mouvement, selon le sens du vent.
  3. 3
    Personne qui change souvent d’avis, de sentiment, de parti.
  4. 4
    Dispositif d’information des véhicules de transport en commun (métro, tramway, bus, cars...) indiquant généralement le numéro et la destination de la ligne.

This word in other languages

weather vane(English)veleta(Español)Wetterfahne(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ggirouette,gioruette,giroeutte,girouete,girouetet,giroutete,girrouette,giruoette,griouette,igrouette

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of girouette - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ggirouette1gioruette2giroeutte2girouete1girouetet2giroutete2girrouette1giruoette2
Edit distance from "girouette"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "girouette"?
"girouette" is spelled G-I-R-O-U-E-T-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʒi.ʁwɛt\.
What does "girouette" mean?
As a noun, "girouette" means: Pièce de fer-blanc ou d’autre matière mince et légère, ordinairement en forme de flèche empennée ou de coq, qu’on pose sur un pivot en un lieu élevé (en général au faîte d’un édifice ou du mât d’un...
What are common misspellings of "girouette"?
Common misspellings include "ggirouette", "gioruette", "giroeutte", "girouete", "girouetet". The correct spelling is "girouette".
How do you pronounce "girouette"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "girouette" is \ʒi.ʁwɛt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "girouette" come from?
"girouette" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “girouette”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is G-I-R-O-U-E-T-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ʒi.ʁwɛt\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list