maternelle
French, noun/ma.tɛʁ.nɛl/
maternelle is spelled M-A-T-E-R-N-E-L-L-E (10 letters) and appears 17 times per million words in written French, the 4,416th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Maternelle is a French feminine noun meaning “ellipsis of école maternelle: nursery school, kindergarten” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a feminine singular of maternel. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “École ou niveau d'une école regroupant les jeunes enfants d’âge préscolaire”.
What does maternelle mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineellipsis of école maternelle: nursery school, kindergarten
adjective
- 1
femininefeminine singular of maternel
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. École ou niveau d'une école regroupant les jeunes enfants d’âge préscolaire.
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 maternelle
- maternelles plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce maternelle?
- /ma.tɛʁ.nɛl/
- \ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to maternelle
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is maternelle in French?
maternelle appears 17 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).