FRENCH NOUN GENDER ENDINGS

LES TERMINAISONS DES NOMS FRANCAIS

English, unlike Spanish, Italian and German, does not link the noun with a
gender-showing article such as "la" or "le" or "der" or "el." English is not for the most
part (except for pronouns) a gendered language. There are some nouns which are
feminine, such as "actress," "heroine," and "alumna," but most feminines have
disappeared from the language. At the same time, only a few masculine nouns remain,
such as "widower," "actor," and "baron." When a French native learns the language they
learn the article along with the noun and that gives them the gender. That is why there is
a great emphasis on using the article in learning French--the gender is noted and
accentuated. When you learn the word for "house" you learn it as "la maison," not simply
"maison." In English we are not taught this way. We learn to key on endings for changes
in noun meaning. Plurals add an "s" or "es" or are irregular: "phenomena," "alumni." or
"oxen." Possessives add an apostrophe plus "s" or in some cases just an apostrophe:
"neighbors'." English takes a very different learning approach to nouns than does French
or German or Italian.

IF A NOUN ENDS IN A CONSONANT OTHER THAN 'N' IT IS MASCULINE

Note that this does not say if a noun ends in "N" it ISN'T masculine. The rule just states
that if a noun doesn't end in "n" and but ends in some other consonant, it is likely to be
masculine. Particularly for "s," "t'" and "r" there are quite a few exceptions. A number of
common words ending in "r" for instance are feminine--la mer, la tour, la cuiller---but if
one has to make a guess, this rule has a high percentage. Keep in mind that the reverse of
this rule is NOT ACCURATE-- If a noun ends in something other than a consonant that
does not mean it's feminine--there are many masculine words that end in a vowel or end
in "n." Use this rule only for nouns ending in a consonant other than "N." More
sophisticated learners may ignore this rule--it's just a good beginning and a good tool for
guessing.

MASCULINE ENDINGS WITH ALMOST COMPLETE CERTAINTY

ENDING KEYWORD EXCEPTION(S)
--ment le jugement la jument (mare)
--c le duc la fac (short for "faculté," which is fem.)
--d le boulevard
--f le cerf (stag) la soif (thirst)
--k l'anorak
--l le sel
--m le nom la faim, la gym (short for "gymnastique")
--p le loup (wolf)
--cle l'oncle la debacle, la boucle
--i le roi la foi, la loi, la fourmi (ant)
--ier l'ouvrier
--ing le pressing
--isme l'existentialisme
--heur le pecheur
le couteau
--eau la peau, l'eau, la vertu
(2+ SYLLABLE ONLY)
le ménage
--age une image, la plage, la nage, la page
(2+SYLLABLE ONLY)
--aire le légionnaire
--lon le salon
--ron le citron
--ton le mouton
--oir le trottoir (sidewalk)
--ou le clou (nail)

FEMININE ENDINGS WITH ALMOST COMPLETE CERTAINTY

ENDING KEYWORD EXCEPTION(S)
--sion la télévision
--tion la nation
--ance l'enfance
--ence la patience le silence
--esse la duchesse
--ise la cérise
--tte la coquette le squelette (skeleton)
--nne la personne
un homme, le gramme, le dilemme, le
--mme la femme
programme
--rre la terre le beurre, le verre, le tonnerre
--nde l'onde, la demande
--aison la maison
--ure la lecture (reading) le murmure
--ue la vue
--erie la boulangerie
--rice l'actrice le dentifrice
--ologie la pharmacologie

MASCULINE ENDINGS WHICH YOU CAN GUESS WITH CONFIDENCE

ENDING KEYWORD EXCEPTION(S)
--ome le dome
--in le vin la fin, la main
FEMININE ENDINGS WHICH YOU CAN GUESS WITH CONFIDENCE
ENDING KEYWORD EXCEPTION(S)
le stade, le grade, le clade, l'alcade, le
--ade la salade
jade, le cade,l'escalade
--ité la fraternité, l'égalité l
--tié l'amitié, la pitié
--ole la parole
le prélude,une interlude,une coude, une
--ude l'habitude
leude (also fem,)