Bonjour tout le monde ! Today, let me talk to you a little bit more about nouns, and most of all, how to know if nouns are feminine or masculine in French.
What is a noun?
A noun is a word that represents something concrete – a person, an object, a place – or something abstract, something invisible like air or an idea. In French, all nouns have a gender: masculine of feminine.
Now, when it comes to people, it can be quite easy to guess if the noun is feminine or masculine in French :
La femme, la mère, la sœur are all feminine nouns, whereas l’homme, le père, le frère, are masculine.
The tricky part is when you realize that the noun “personne” – a person – is always feminine, regardless of that person’s gender ! It’s better to start off this way by knowing this particularly important information:
In French, the gender is part of the noun, so you will be better off learning it the right way.
Gender is not to be neglected in French grammar, as adjectives, pronouns and verbs can be affected by it. By learning the gender along with the nouns, you will save a significant amount of time and it will make French grammar much easier for you.
Pro tip
While constructing your vocabulary list, instead of formulating it this way :
chat – cat
chien – dog
maison – house
chaise – chair
Do it this way:
un chat – (a) cat
un chien – (a) dog
une maison – (a) house
une chaise – (a) chair
By adding an article before the noun when you memorize it, the noun’s gender will be printed in your mind.
How do I know if a noun is feminine or masculine in French?
Now, let’s take a look at the example earlier.
Masculine nouns
Ending in | Examples | Exceptions |
-age | Le paysage Le mariage Le mirage Le corsage Le plumage | La plage La cage L’image La page |
-ment | Le monument Le bâtiment | La jument |
-eau | Le bateau L’oiseau Le caniveau | L’eau La peau |
-phone | Le microphone Le téléphone | – |
-scope | Le télescope Le microscope Le camescope | – |
-isme | Le bouddhisme Le christianisme Le féminisme | – |
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Feminine nouns
Ending in | Examples | Exceptions |
-tion/sion | L’addition La tension L’accumulation | – |
-té | La société La sobriété La simplicité | Le comité Le pâté L’été |
-ée | L’assemblée La marée La vallée La fée L’allée | Le lycée Le musée Le scarabée |
-ette | La bicyclette La trompette La galipette | Le squelette |
-ance | La tendance La connaissance L’aisance | – |
-ence | L’absence La conférence La corpulence | Le silence |
-ure | L’agriculture La culture La sciure La couture La bordure La nature | Le mercure |
-ade/ode/ude | La rigolade La salade La méthode La solitude | – |
Masculine to feminine
Most French nouns become feminine according to regular patterns. For regular nouns, the usual pattern is by adding an “e” at the end of the masculine noun to make it feminine.
Un voisin —> Une voisine
Un cousin —> Une cousine
Un étudiant —> Une étudiante
Singular to plural
The same pattern applies to the plural form of these nouns. For regular nouns, adding an “s” to the noun (masculine or feminine) builds the plural form.
Un voisin – Une voisine
Des voisins – Des voisines
Un étudiant – Une étudiante
Des étudiants – Des étudiantes
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What about irregular nouns?
Irregular nouns are based on the final letter of their masculine singular form.
As a general rule, nouns that are ending in a vowel + “L” , “T”, “N” become feminine by doubling the consonnant and adding an “E”.
Un chat – Une chatte
Un chien – Une chienne
Un criminel – Une criminelle
French nouns ending in -er
Nouns ending in -er, require an accent (l’accent grave) before adding the “E” :
Le postier – La postière
Les postiers – Les postières
Le boulanger – La boulangère
Les boulangers – Les boulangères
French nouns ending in -eur
Feminine : -euse
Le vendeur – La vendeuse
Les vendeurs – Les vendeuses
Un danseur – Une danseuse
Des danseurs – Des danseuses
French nouns ending in -teur
Feminine : -trice
Le directeur – La directrice
Les directeurs – Les directrices
Un acteur – Une actrice
Des acteurs – Des actrices
French nouns ending in -f or -p
Replace the -f or the -p with a -v before adding the “e”.
Un sportif – Une sportive
Des sportifs – Des sportives
Un loup – Une louve
Des loups – Des louves
Conclusion
I hope that you enjoyed learning how to recognize if a noun is feminine or masculine in French. If you remember this, kudos to you! In the meantime, I invite you to keep a dictionary beside you at all times. That way, you will be able to see if the noun is feminine (n.f) or masculine (n.m).
Another way to learn feminine or masculine in French and memorize (or at least write down) the nouns with the article (un / une). That way, you will “picture” the article in your mind and remember which article comes before it.
If you liked this lesson, feel free to share it, comment below or simply join the Learn To French community on Facebook. I have a wonderful announcement to make, my podcast is now available on Spotify, so feel free to check it out! Until then, au revoir et à bientôt!
Excellent notes. Very useful.
Thank you for your generous donation!! I enjoy and learn a lot with you.
Merci beaucoup !