Every noun is masculine or feminine: learn each noun with its article, le livre, la table. The article and the adjective take the gender of the noun: un petit livre, une petite table
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine and feminine | le / un: masculine; la / une: feminine | le livre / la table | the book / the table | |
| Family | one word for the man, another for the woman | le frère / la sœur | the brother / the sister | |
| Masculine endings | ‑age, ‑ment, ‑eau: masculine | le voyage / le bureau | the trip / the office | |
| Feminine endings | ‑tion, ‑té, ‑ée, ‑ure: feminine | la station / la voiture | the station / the car | |
| Other endings | ‑e or a consonant: both genders, learn the article | le jour / la nuit | the day / the night | |
| Shortened words | a shortened word keeps the gender of the full word | la photo / la moto | the photo / the motorbike | |
| People | for a woman, add ‑e | un ami / une amie | a (male) friend / a (female) friend | |
| One form | noun in ‑e: the article shows the sex | le journaliste / la journaliste | the (male) journalist / the (female) journalist | |
| Job nouns | ‑eur → ‑euse, ‑teur → ‑trice, ‑ien → ‑ienne | le chanteur / la chanteuse | the (male) singer / the (female) singer | |
| Same word, two genders | the gender changes the meaning | le tour du monde / la tour Eiffel | the trip around the world / the Eiffel Tower | |
| Trap | ‑e does not always mean feminine | Le problème est simple. | The problem is simple. |
Overview
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
- Every noun is masculine or feminine, nouns for things too. le stylo / la cléthe pen / the key
- Learn each noun with its article, which shows the gender. un livre / une tablea book / a table
- The words that go with the noun take its gender: the article, the adjective, the possessive, the demonstrative. un petit livre / une petite tablea small book / a small table
- The forms of the articles: see Articles.
- How the adjective agrees with the noun: see Adjectives.
Form: gender by ending
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| Ending | Gender | Examples | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‑age | masculine | le voyage / le fromage | the trip / the cheese | |
| ‑ment | masculine | le moment / l’appartement | the moment / the flat | |
| ‑eau | masculine | le bureau / le gâteau | the office / the cake | |
| ‑al | masculine | le journal / l’animal | the newspaper / the animal | |
| ‑tion, ‑sion | feminine | la station / la télévision | the station / the television | |
| ‑té, ‑ée | feminine | la santé / la journée | health / the day | |
| ‑ure | feminine | la voiture / la nature | the car / nature | |
| ‑ie | feminine | la pharmacie / la boulangerie | the pharmacy / the bakery | |
| ‑ance, ‑ence | feminine | la chance / la différence | luck / the difference | |
| ‑e | both genders | le livre / le problème / la table | the book / the problem / the table | |
| a consonant | both genders | le sac / la nuit | the bag / the night |
- A shortened word keeps the gender of the full word: la photo for la photographie. La photo est belle. / La moto est rouge.The photo is beautiful. / The motorbike is red.
- A few frequent nouns break the pattern: l’eau and la peau, l’été and le musée. La peau est douce. / Le musée est grand.The skin is soft. / The museum is big.
- Nouns in ‑eur take either gender: le moteur, la couleur, la peur.
- France: In France, job is masculine: un job. Il a un bon job.He has a good job.
- Canada: In Québec, job is feminine: une job. Elle a une bonne job.She has a good job.
Nouns for people
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| Masculine | Feminine | Level |
|---|---|---|
| le père | la mère | |
| le frère | la sœur | |
| le garçon | la fille | |
| l’homme | la femme | |
| un ami | une amie | |
| un étudiant | une étudiante | |
| un client | une cliente | |
| un élève | une élève | |
| un collègue | une collègue | |
| le journaliste | la journaliste | |
| le voisin | la voisine | |
| le boulanger | la boulangère | |
| le chanteur | la chanteuse | |
| l’acteur | l’actrice | |
| le musicien | la musicienne | |
| le patron | la patronne |
- For a woman, the noun takes ‑e. Paul est étudiant. / Léa est étudiante.Paul is a student. / Léa is a student.
- Nouns in ‑e keep one form: the article shows the sex. Le journaliste parle. / La journaliste parle.The (male) journalist is speaking. / The (female) journalist is speaking.
- A group of men and women takes the masculine. Paul et Léa sont étudiants.Paul and Léa are students.
- A few endings change: ‑er → ‑ère, ‑eur → ‑euse, ‑teur → ‑trice, ‑ien → ‑ienne. Marc est boulanger. / Julie est boulangère.Marc is a baker. / Julie is a baker.
- France: In France, many job nouns keep the masculine for a woman: médecin, professeur, ingénieur. Ma mère est médecin. / Elle est professeur.My mother is a doctor. / She is a teacher.
- Canada: In Québec, these nouns also take ‑e in the feminine: professeure, ingénieure, auteure. Ma mère est professeure. / Ma sœur est ingénieure.My mother is a teacher. / My sister is an engineer.
Pronunciation: the feminine in speech
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| Masculine | Feminine | Level |
|---|---|---|
| ami /ami/ | amie /ami/ | |
| étudiant /etydjɑ̃/ | étudiante /etydjɑ̃t/ | |
| client /klijɑ̃/ | cliente /klijɑ̃t/ | |
| voisin /vwazɛ̃/ | voisine /vwazin/ | |
| chanteur /ʃɑ̃tœʁ/ | chanteuse /ʃɑ̃tøz/ | |
| acteur /aktœʁ/ | actrice /aktʁis/ | |
| musicien /myzisjɛ̃/ | musicienne /myzisjɛn/ |
- The final ‑e is silent, but the consonant before it is heard: étudiant /etydjɑ̃/, étudiante /etydjɑ̃t/.
- When the noun already ends in a vowel, the feminine sounds like the masculine: ami, amie.
- A nasal vowel loses its nasality in the feminine: voisin /vwazɛ̃/, voisine /vwazin/.
- For all the sounds of French, see Pronunciation.
Same word, two genders
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| Masculine | Feminine | Meanings | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| le tour | la tour | a walk or a turn; a tower | |
| le poste | la poste | a job; the post office | |
| le livre | la livre | a book; a pound (weight or money) | |
| le mode | la mode | a way of doing something; fashion |
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le voiture est rouge. | La voiture est rouge. | voiture is feminine: nouns in ‑ure are feminine | |
| Le table est grande. | La table est grande. | even a thing has a gender: la table is feminine, le livre is masculine | |
| Léa est étudiant. | Léa est étudiante. | the noun for a woman takes ‑e: étudiante | |
| Léa est une ami. | Léa est une amie. | after une, the noun takes ‑e: une amie | |
| La problème est simple. | Le problème est simple. | problème is masculine: so are le système and le thème | |
| Nous visitons le tour Eiffel. | Nous visitons la tour Eiffel. | la tour is the building: le tour is a walk |