Phrase guide

petite bourgeoisie

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The lower middle class.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, historical, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An aspirational socio-economic class comprising small-scale capitalists such as small-business owners, managers, and some skilled professionals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Marxism, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: petty bourgeoisie

Antonyms: haute bourgeoisie

3

noun

Meaning 3

lower middle class (shopkeepers and clerical staff etc.)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: petit bourgeois, petty bourgeoisie

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: middle class, bourgeoisie

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French petite bourgeoisie.

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: البرجوازية الصغيرة — socio-economic class
  • Bulgarian: дребна буржоазия (drebna buržoazija) — socio-economic class
  • Catalan: petita burgesia — socio-economic class
  • Chinese Mandarin: 小資產階級 /小资产阶级 (xiǎo zīchǎn jiējí) — socio-economic class
  • Czech: maloburžoazie — socio-economic class
  • Danish: småborgerskab — socio-economic class
  • Finnish: pikkuporvaristo — socio-economic class
  • French: petite bourgeoisie — socio-economic class
  • German: Kleinbürgertum — socio-economic class
  • Japanese: 小ブルジョア (shō-burujoa) — socio-economic class
  • Japanese: プチ・ブルジョア (puchi burujoa) — socio-economic class
  • Japanese: プチブル (puchiburu) — socio-economic class
  • Eastern Mari: мещанстве (meŝanstve) — socio-economic class
  • Polish: drobnomieszczaństwo — socio-economic class
  • Portuguese: pequena burguesia — socio-economic class
  • Romanian: mica burghezie — socio-economic class
  • Russian: ме́лкая буржуази́я (mélkaja buržuazíja) — socio-economic class
  • Russian: меща́нство (meščánstvo) — socio-economic class
  • Spanish: pequeña burguesía — socio-economic class
  • Turkish: küçük burjuvazi — socio-economic class
  • Turkish: kentsoylu — socio-economic class
  • Vietnamese: giai cấp tiểu tư sản — socio-economic class