# Noun Gender

https://langs123.com/en/french/nom-determinants/genre/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> 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

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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 voy**age** / le bur**eau** | the trip / the office |
| Feminine endings | **-tion**, **-té**, **-ée**, **-ure**: feminine | la sta**tion** / la voit**ure** | 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 ami**e** | 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 chant**eur** / la chant**euse** | 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

- Every noun is masculine or feminine, nouns for things too. **le** stylo / **la** clé (the pen / the key)
- Learn each noun with its article, which shows the gender. **un** livre / **une** table (a 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** table (a 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

| Ending | Gender | Examples |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **-age** | masculine | le voy**age** / le from**age** | the trip / the cheese |
| **-ment** | masculine | le mo**ment** / l’apparte**ment** | the moment / the flat |
| **-eau** | masculine | le bur**eau** / le gât**eau** | the office / the cake |
| **-al** | masculine | le journ**al** / l’anim**al** | the newspaper / the animal |
| **-tion**, **-sion** | feminine | la sta**tion** / la télévi**sion** | the station / the television |
| **-té**, **-ée** | feminine | la san**té** / la jour**née** | health / the day |
| **-ure** | feminine | la voit**ure** / la nat**ure** | the car / nature |
| **-ie** | feminine | la pharmac**ie** / la boulanger**ie** | the pharmacy / the bakery |
| **-ance**, **-ence** | feminine | la ch**ance** / la différ**ence** | 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

| Masculine | Feminine |
| --- | --- |
| le père | la mère |
| le frère | la sœur |
| le garçon | la fille |
| l’homme | la femme |
| un ami | une ami**e** |
| un étudiant | une étudiant**e** |
| un client | une client**e** |
| un **élève** | une **élève** |
| un **collègue** | une **collègue** |
| le **journaliste** | la **journaliste** |
| le voisin | la voisin**e** |
| le boulang**er** | la boulang**ère** |
| le chant**eur** | la chant**euse** |
| l’ac**teur** | l’ac**trice** |
| le musicien | la musici**enne** |
| le patron | la patr**onne** |

- 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

| Masculine | Feminine |
| --- | --- |
| 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

| Masculine | Feminine | Meanings |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 |