ingénue

\ɛ̃.ʒe.ny\

/\ɛ̃.ʒe.ny\/ noun

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

The verdict

“ingénue” is uncommon French (frequency #54,027 among 142,603 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,027
frequency rank, French
142,603
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Femme simple et presque naïve dans la franchise.

Key facts for ingénue
PropertyValue
Headwordingénue
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛ̃.ʒe.ny\
Letters7
Frequency rank#54,027
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ingénue” 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). ingénue lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

ingénue is uncommon French at frequency #54,027 among 142,603 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɛ̃.ʒe.ny\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for ingénue in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is ingénue, spelled I-N-G-É-N-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Femme simple et presque naïve dans la franchise.
  2. 2
    Rôles de jeunes filles naïves.

This word in other languages

ingenue(English)

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 "ingénue"?
"ingénue" is spelled I-N-G-É-N-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛ̃.ʒe.ny\.
What does "ingénue" mean?
As a noun, "ingénue" means: Femme simple et presque naïve dans la franchise.
How do you pronounce "ingénue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ingénue" is \ɛ̃.ʒe.ny\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ingénue" come from?
"ingénue" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “ingénue”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is I-N-G-É-N-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɛ̃.ʒe.ny\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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