gouvernante
French, noun/ɡu.vɛʁ.nɑ̃t/
gouvernante is spelled G-O-U-V-E-R-N-A-N-T-E (11 letters) and appears 1.8 times per million words in written French, the 21,879th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Gouvernante is a French feminine noun meaning “governess” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a feminine singular of gouvernant. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Femme à laquelle on confie l’éducation d’un ou de plusieurs enfants”.
What does gouvernante mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininegoverness
adjective
- 1
femininefeminine singular of gouvernant
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Femme à laquelle on confie l’éducation d’un ou de plusieurs enfants. 2. Femme qui a soin du ménage d’un homme veuf ou célibataire. 3. Employée responsable du ménage des chambres et du personnel affecté à ce travail. 4. Femme chargée de la direction d’une subdivision administrative de premier niveau, comme une province ou un État, une colonie ou un grand établissement financier.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of gouvernante
- gouvernantes plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce gouvernante?
- /ɡu.vɛʁ.nɑ̃t/
- \ɡu.vɛʁ.nɑ̃t\
- [ɡu.vɛʁ.nɑ̃t]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to gouvernante
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is gouvernante in French?
gouvernante appears 1.8 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).