How do I tell whether to use 'le' or 'la'?

Nouns in French are divided into two categories. With nouns in the first
category, the word for the is le and for nouns in the second category it is la.
The two categories are generally called masculine and feminine. The
names masculine and feminine are conventional and probably stem from the
fact that some masculine nouns refer to male people or beings, and some
feminine nouns to female people or beings. But in the vast majority of cases,
there is no real relationship between a noun's meaning and its gender.
Consider, for example, that bureau and office can have similar meanings, but
the former is masculine and the latter feminine; or that the noun personne is
feminine but can refer to both men and women.
When you very first start learning French, you'll probably learn whether a noun
is masculine or feminine by learning it with the word le or la: le garon, la
fille etc. Initially, this is probably the most effective way of learning when to
use le and when to use la.
In other words, the answer to our question to start with is "you've just got to
remember!".

Rules and patterns for deciding on the gender of a

French noun
As your proficiency in the language grows, you'll probably reach a point where
you stop learning words with the article le or la alongside. For example, if
you're acquiring vocabulary through reading or watching a film, some of the
time the article won't be present. And there'll inevitably be times when you
can't quite remember the gender of a word and could do with some kind of
"best guess". The following table gives some general patterns that will help
you decide whether a word is masculine or feminine.
Common rules and patterns for deciding if a French noun is masculine or feminine.
Generally masculine
Generally feminine
Nouns referring to male people.
Nouns referring to female people.
These are feminine, whatever the
A handful of nouns are masculine, whatever the gender of
gender of the
the person they refer to,
person: personne, victime,recrue (r
e.g.: amateur, auteur, tmoin, vainqueur,voyou plus
ecruit), connaissance (acquaintance
certain job titles.
).

Certain nouns referring to animals that can refer to only

the male of the species. For
example: talon (stallion), cerf (stag), matou(tomcat).

Certain nouns referring to animals

that can refer to only the female of
the species. For
example: chatte (female
cat), chienne (bitch), louve (shewolf).

Masculine nouns that are 'generic' terms and can refer to

either a male or female of the species. For example, le
cheval can refer to either a male or female horse.

Feminine nouns that are 'generic'

terms and can refer to either male or
female of the species. For
example, la souris can refer to either
a male or female mouse.

Names of towns. Other place names (departments, rivers,

countries) not ending in -e.

Place names ending in -e.

Common exception: la FrancheComt (French department).

Common exceptions: le Mexique, le Combodge, le
Sometimes town names, especially
Rhne, le Finistre (French department), le Zimbabwe (- if they look or sound feminine
e pronounced).
(e.g. Marseilles ending in -es), can
be treated as feminine. This is quite
rare, though.
Nouns ending in:

-age
-ment
-il, -ail, -eil, -ueil
- (but not -t)
-eau and -ou
-me, -ge
-i, -at, -et and -ot
-er
-oir
-isme
-ing
-ard
Words ending in other consonants (in the spelling).

Nouns ending in:

-tion, -sion and -son

-ure
-ude, -ade
-e
-t
-ire
Consonant followed by -ie
-euse
-ance, -ence
Most other endings
consisting of Vowel +
Consonant + e: -ine, -ise, alle, -elle, -esse, -ette etc

Nouns ending in -eur, generally derived from a verb,

denoting people or machines carrying out an
activity: aspirateur, facteur,ordinateur

Figurative nouns ending in -eur,

usually derived from an
adjective: rougeur,largeur, pleur,
couleur, horreur, rumeur

Principal exceptions (look feminine but actually

masculine):cimetire, episode, espace, intervalle, lyce,
magazine,mille, muse, rverbre, silence, squelette, sta
de

Principal exceptions (look masculine

but actually
feminine): cage, eau, image,merci,
page, peau, plage

Compound nouns of the form verb-noun: portemonnaie, pare-brise, tire-bouchon.

--

Where there is a conflict, rules to do with a word's construction or function

generally override rules to do with the word's sound or ending. For
example,pare-brise ends in the normally feminine ending -ise, but is of the
form verb-noun so is masculine. The words trompette and clarinette have a
feminine ending, but when used to denote a person ('trumpet player' or
'clarinette player'), they are masculine.

Introduction
French nouns are either Monsieurs or Madams. Interestingly, native
speakers associate masculine qualities with masculine nouns and feminine
qualities with feminine nouns. Ideally, when learning a noun you should
learn its gender as well. A French friend of mine suggested I put skirts on
the feminine objects in the pictorial guide, and maybe a little mustache on
the masculine objects. So far I haven't had time to wrap a skirt around la
banane or put pantyhose on l'araigne, but maybe you can use your imagination.

People nouns
People nouns are generally easy. If a person is a male then the noun is masculine and a
masculine article is used, if the person is female then the noun is feminine and a feminine article
is used.
acrobate

acrobat

comptable

accountant

gosse

kid

adulte

adult

concierge

caretaker

hypocrite

hypocrite

aide

helper

cycliste

cyclist

journaliste

journalist

aristocrate

aristocrat

dentiste

dentist

juge

judge

artiste

artist

lve

student

nationaliste

nationalist

astronaute

astronout

enfant

child

pirate

pirate

bureaucrate

bureaucrat

camarade

comrade

fleuriste

florist

scientifique

scientist

Elle embrasse un cycliste.

She is kissing a cyclist (male).
Many people nouns have masculine and a feminine forms.
l'employ
le fermier
le cousin
l'anglais
le champion
l'europen
le vendeur
l'acteur
le veuf

l'employe
la fermire
la cousine
l'anglaise
la championne
l'europenne
la vendeuse
l'actrice
la veuve

employee
farmer
cousin
Englishman/woman
champion
european
salesman/woman
actor/actress
widower/widow

There are people nouns, however, which are always of a particular gender no matter what the sex
of the person.
la vedette
le capitaine
le savant
le mannequin
le clown
le pilot

star (actor/actress)
captain
wise person
fashion model
clown
pilot

Paul Belmondo est ma vedette prfre.

Paul Belmondo is my favorite actor/star.
Practice the gender of people nouns

Animals
Some animals have both male and female versions.
un homme
un chat

une femme
une chatte

human
cat

un chien
un ours
un rat
un cheval
un taureau
un coq
un renard

une chienne
une ourse
une rate
une jument
une vache
une poule
une renarde

dog
bear
rat
horse
bull/cow
rooster/chicken
fox

Most species of animals are either masculine or feminine and both species of animals are
referred to with the same gender.
le zbre
l'oiseau m.
le hibou
le crapaud
la girafe
l'hutre f.

zebra
bird
owl
toad
giraffe
oyster

Category Gender
Masculine
The following categories of words are almost always masculine.

Days of the week and seasons

le lundi
le mardi
le mercredi
le jeudi

Monday
Tuesday
Wenesday
Thursday

le vendredi
le samedi
le dimanche

Friday
Saturday
Sunday

le printemps
l't m.

Spring
Summer

l'automne m.
l'hiver m.

Autumn, Fall
Winter

German
Chinese

le franais
l'hindi m.

French
Hindi

Language Names
l'allemand m.
le chinois

le crole
le coren
l'espagnol

Creole
Korean
Spanish

le portugaise
le sudois

Portuguese
Swedish

blue
red

le jaune
le rose

yellow
pink

four

le b

colors
le bleu
le rouge

numbers and letters

le quatre
le a

Metric measures
le gramme
le litre
le mtre
le volt

le joule
le watt
l'hectare

Trees
le chne
le sapin

oak
pine

le bananier

Wines and cheeses

le camembert
le brie
le mozzarella
le roquefort
Exceptions: la tomme, la tomme de Savoie
le bordeaux
le beaujolais

le gruyre
le Saint-Marcelin
le Munster
le roblochon

banana tree

Feminine
The following categories are almost always feminine.

Academic Disciplines
l'astronomie
la chimie
l'informatique

astronomy
chemisry
computer science

la science
l'histoire
l'anthropologie

science
history
anthropology

Cars
une peugeot

la 107

une renault

une citron
la Berlingo

la Twingo

Watches
une casio
une rolex

une swatch

The Non Sacred Gender Rule

I. Expect all nouns to be masculine unless they end in mute e.
II.Except for the following endings which are masculine to a large degree
(despite ending in mute e )

-ge ending nouns

-le ending nouns that don't end in -lle, -ole, -ale, or -ule
-me ending nouns
-re ending nouns that don't end in -ure
-phe ending nouns

and the following, which are feminine to a large degree

(despite not ending in mute e )

-on ending nouns

- ending nouns

-eur ending nouns

I call this the non sacred rule because it has so many exceptions. While you can't rely
on this rule to determine noun gender on the fly, it can serve as a good starting point
for approaching and learning the gender of nouns. In the following pages, french
nouns are organized by the rule along with exceptions. There are quizzes throughout. I
suggest you alternate between reviewing the tables and taking the quiz until you can
guess the gender of all the nouns.

Part I Masculine Examples

These nouns exemplify part I of the rule- they don't end in mute e and are
overwhelmingly masculine.

Consonant Endings
le plomb

lead

le bec

beak

l'chec

failure

l'estomac

stomach

l'accord
le brouillard

agreement
fog

le nid
le nud

nest
knot

le nord
le pied

north
foot

l'oeuf

egg

le seuil
le soleil
le sourcil

threashold
sun
eyebrow

Exceptions: la soif thirst

le conseil
le deuil
le fil

advice
mourning
thread

le journal
le miel
l'outil

newspaper
honey
tool

le parfum

perfume

le prnom

first name

Exceptions: la faim hunger

l'an
le bain

year
bath

le besoin
le coin

need
corner

le dessin
le pain

drawing
bread

le tour
le ver

tour
worm

Exceptions: la fin end, la main hand

le coup

blow, hit

le drap

cloth, sheet

le battoir
le cur
le mur

beater
heart
wall

Exceptions: la jeep

l'acier
l'avenir

steel
future

Exceptions: la mer sea, la star movie star, la tour tower

the -oir ending
arroser
fermer
raser

to water
to close
to shave

l'arrosoir
le fermoir
le rasoir

watering can
fastener
shaver

le cerisier
le citronnier
le pommier

cherry tree
lemon tree
apple tree

the -ier ending

le calendrier
le papier

calendar
paper

fruit bearing trees:

la cerise
le citron
la pomme

cherry
lemon
apple

le bois

le dos
le jus

wood

back
juice

le mois
le vers

month
verse, poetry

Exceptions: la fois occaision, l'oasis oasis, la vis screw

l'arrt
le droit
le fait

stop,decree
right
fact

le mandat
le robinet

mandate
faucet

le sommet
le souhait
le statut

summit
desire
ordinance

tooth
forest

la nuit
la part

night
portion, piece

la plupart

majority

Exceptions:
la dent
la fort

the -ment ending

Most of the -ment nouns are formed by converting verbs to nouns.
abonner
enregistrer
sentir

to subscribe
to register
to feel

l'abonnement
subscription
l'enregistrement registration
le sentiment
feeling

other: le monument

le choix

choice

le taux

rate

Exceptions:
la croix
la noix

cross
walnut

la paix
la toux

peace
cough

la voix

voice

l'opra
le soda

opera
coke

le tapioca
le yoga

tapioca
yoga

Vowel Endings
l'agenda
le magma

agenda
magma

Exceptions:
la villa, la polka, la samba, la salsa, la pizza, la vodka

(many of the words borrowed from foreign tongues)

l'influenza, la malaria, la paranoa (Disease names)
la caftria, la saga

l'abri
l'appui
l'aprs-midi

shelter
support
afternoon

le midi
le pli

midday
fold

le souci
le taxi

worry
taxi

la foi
la fourmi

faith
ant

la loi

law

la paroi

partition

ligloo

igloo

le vlo

bicycle

le zoo

zoo

Exceptions:

Exceptions: la dynamo dynamo, la gestapo gestapo, la libido libido

le malentendu
le menu

misunderstanding
menu

le reu
le tissu

receipt
cloth, fabric

Exceptions: la vertu virtue, la tribu tribe

le bandeau
le bureau
le cadeau

flag
office
gift

le cerveau
le chteau
le couteau

brain
castle
knife

le morceau
l'oiseau
le seau

piece
bird
bucket

neck
knee

l'hibou
le trou

owl
hole

Exceptions: l'eau water, la peau skin

le bijou
le caillou

practice

jewel
pebble

le cou
le genou

Part II Masculine
These nouns are examples of part II of the rule. They tend to be masculine, even
though they end in mute e. They have one of the following endings:

-ge
-le (except for nouns that end in -lle, -ole, -ale, or -ule)
-me
-re (except for -ure ending nouns)
-phe

-ge
-age endings
Almost all of the -age ending nouns with more than two syllables are masculine100% of the time when formed from a verb.
user

to use

l'usage

usage

reporter

to report

le reportage

report

passer

to occurr, to pass

le passage

sonder

to probe

le sondage

survey, poll

virer

to turn

le virage

turning

These are also masculine...

le fromage

cheese

le nuage

cloud

le garage

garage

le message

message

le village

village

Exceptions: most are one syllable...

la cage

cage

la plage

beach

la rage

rabies

l'image

image

-ge endings
le collge

school

le pige

le mange

merry-go-round le privilge

trap

le sacrilge

sacrilege

privilege

le sige

headquarters

Exceptions: la Norvge Norway

practice
While -age and -ge endings are predominately masculine, the rest of the -ge endings
are evenly split.
Masculine
l'ge

age

le refuge

refuge

le cierge

candle

le singe

monkey

le dluge

flood

le subterfuge

evasion

l'change

exchange

le vertige

dizziness

le prestige

prestige

le vestige

relic, remnant

Feminine
l'allonge
l'auberge
la barge
la charge
l'ponge

extension
tavern, inn
barge
load,burden
sponge

l'horloge
la jauge
la luge
la neige

practice

-me endings
Cardinal numbers are masculine.

clock
gauge
sled
snow

l'orge
la phalange
la purge
le louange

barley
finger bone
purge
praise

trois
quatre
cinq
six

three
four
five
six

un troisime
un quatrime
un cinquime
un sixime

third
fourth
fifth
sixth

the -ismes are always masculine

le bouddhisme
le capitalisme

l'altruisme
le charisme

Buddhism
capitalism

altruism
charisma

le cynisme

le communisme
l'hindouisme

cynicism

communism
Hinduism

le prisme

prism

other -me endings:

le blme
le crime
le dme
le drame
le lgume
le pome
le problme
le rgime
le royaume
le rythme
le systme
le terme
le thme

blame
crime
dome
drama
vegetable
poem
problem
regime
kingdom
rhythm
system
term
theme

le charme
l'enthousiasme
le fantasme
le spasme
le sarcasme
le baptme
l'emblme
le diplme
le costume
le tome
le calme
le diaphragme

charm
enthusiasm
ghost
spasm
sarcasm
baptism
emblem
diploma
suit
tome
calmness
diaphragm

Exceptions:
l'alarme
l'me
l'arme
la bohme
la cime
la coutume
la crme

alarm
soul
weapon
bohemian
limit
summit
custom

l'cume
l'nigme
l'pigramme
l'escrime
l'estime
la ferme
la firme

froth, foam
enigma
epigram
fencing
respect
farm
firm

la forme
la gomme
la lame
la larme
la plume
la rame
la rime

form
gum
blade
tear
feather
oar
rhyme

cream

la flamme

flame

la trirme

trireme

practice

-le endings
The majority of -le ending nouns are masculine if we exclude the in -lle, -ole, -ale, or ule ending (Part I Feminine Examples).
le cble
le cercle
le couvercle
le diable
le disciple
l'ensemble
l'exemple
le meuble

cable
circle
cover, lid
devil
disciple
unity
example
furniture

le miracle
le muscle
l'obstacle
l'ongle
le peuple
le puzzle
le reptile

miracle
muscle
obstacle
fingernail
people
puzzle
reptile

le sable
le sicle
le souffle
le style
le triangle
l'utensile
le vignoble

sand
century
breath
style
triangle
utensil
vineyard

Exceptions:
l'aile
l'table
la fable

wing
stable
tale

l' le
la jungle

island
jungle

la pole
la toile
la table

frying pan
web
table

butter
center
balance
type

le martyre
le massacre
le sommaire
le tonnere

martyr
massacre
summary
thunder

le poivre
le sucre
le sourire
le ventre
le verre

pepper
sugar
smile
belly
glass

business
anchor
room

la grammaire
la guerre
la molaire

grammar
war
molar

la pierre
la rencontre
la terre

rock
meeting
land

practice

-re endings
le beurre
le centre
l'quilibre
le genre

Exceptions:
l'affaire
l'ancre
la chambre

la chaire

chair

la paire

pair

practice
-re endings are split down the middle
Masculine
le cimetire

cemetery

le magistre

Master's degree le polymre

polymer

le derrire

back, rear

le monastre

monastery

l'ulcre

ulcer

l'hlicoptre

helicopter

le mystre

mystery

beer
heather
era

la galre
la misre

galley
poverty

la prire
la sphre

prayer
sphere

Feminine
la bire
la bruyre
l're

practice
-oire endings are also evenly divided
Masculine
l'auditoire
le directoire
l'ivoire

audience
directory
ivory

le laboratoire
laboratory
le pourboire
tip ,gratuity
le promontoire promontory

le purgatoire
le rpertoire
le territoire

cupboard
bathtub
fair

la gloire
l' histoire
la mchoire

la trajectoire
la victoire

purgatory

territory

Feminine
l'armoire
la baignoire
la foire

practice

glory
history
jaw

trajectory
victory

-phe endings
le paragraphe

paragraph

le triomphe

triumph

Part I Feminine Examples

These nouns end in mute e, therefore we can expect them to be feminine.

-e
l'anne
la matine

year
morning

la gorge
la poigne

gulp
fistful

Exceptions: l'apoge zenith, le muse museum, le trophe trophy

practice
Nouns formed from adding 'e' to the past participle are 100% feminine.
all
sorti
entrepris
mis

l'alle
la sortie
l'entreprise
la mise

walkway
exit
undertaking
placement

-ie
la comdie
la craie
la furie
l'insomnie

comedy
chalk
fury
insomnia

la joie
la tromperie
la mlodie
la mlancolie

joy
trickery
melody
melancholy

la posie
la proie
la plaie
la soie

poetry
prey
wound
silk

Exceptions:
le gnie
l'incendie

genius
fire

le parapluie
le foie

umbrella
liver

practice

-ue
la charrue
la grue
la mue

plow
crane
molting

la rue
la statue

street
statue

la boue
la revue

mud
review

la tenue

holding

la vue

view

syllable
leg
dawn

l'amibe
l'herbe

herb
amoeba

l'entrevue

interview

-be
la syllabe
la jambe
l'aube

la colombe
la tombe
la courbe

dove
tomb
curve

Exceptions:
le cube
le globe

cube
globe

le microbe

le tube
le verbe

microbe

tube
verb

practice

-ce
la face
la grimace

front
grimace

l'once
la populace

ounce
populace

la source
la ressource

spring (natural)
resource

Exceptions: le pouce thumb, le commerce business, le divorce divorce

nouns ending in -ice are split down the middle
Feminine
l'avarice
la cicatrice

greed
scar

l'hlice
la justice

propeller
justice

la malice
la police

malice
police

Masculine
l'appendice
l'armistice
le bnfice

appendix
armistice
profit

le caprice
le malfice
l'orifice

whim, caprice
evil spell
hole, opening

le sacrifice
le solstice
le vice

sacrifice
solstice
vice

practice

-ance, -ence
la confrence
la confiance

conference
trust

Exceptions: le silence

la diffrence
l'enfance

difference
infancy

l'vidence
la rsistance

evidence
resistance

-de
l'habitude
l'tude
la bourgade
la cascade

habit
study
large village
waterfall

la grenade
la lgende
la mthode

pomegranate, grenade
legend
method

Exceptions:
le stade
l'acide
le coude
le dioxyde

l'pisode
l'exode
le fluide
l'interlude
le lipide

stadium
acid
elbow
dioxide

episode
exodus
fluid
interlude
lipid

le monde
l'oxyde
l'iode
le prlude
le solide

world
oxide
iodine
prelude
solid

all the -cide are masculine

le gnocide
le homicide

genocide
homicide

l'insecticide
le pesticide

insecticide
pesticide

practice

-fe
l'agrafe
la carafe

hook,clasp
carafe

la coiffe
l'toffe

hairstyle
material, cloth

Exceptions: le golfe gulf, bay

There is a heavy masculine -le ending presence, but the -elle, -ille, -ole, -ale, and -ule
endings are overwhelmingly feminine.

-elle
la chandelle
la dentelle
l'chelle
la ficelle

candle
lace
ladder
string

la gazelle
la poubelle
la vaisselle
la selle

Exceptions: le vermicelle vermicelli

gazelle
garbage can
dishes
bowel movement

l'ombrelle
la sauterelle

sunshade
grasshopper

-ille
l'aiguille
la famille
la grille
l'abeille
la veille
la corbeille

needle
family
grate
bee
vigil
baslet

la taille
la bataille
la bouteille
la feuille
la maille
l'oreille

size
battle
bottle
leaf, sheet(paper)
stitch
ear

Exceptions: l'intervalle interval

-ole
la bagnole
la casserole
la console

car
saucepan
console

l'idole
l'cole
la parole

idol
school
word

Exceptions:
le monopole
le contrle

monopoly
control

le rle
le symbole

role
symbol

-ale
la cymbale
l'escale

cymbal
stop, port of call

la pdale
la sandale

pedal
sandal

Exceptions: le chle shawl, le ptale petal, le scandale scandal

-ule
l'paule
la pellicule
la vsicule
la formule
la gueule
la cellule

shoulder
film
bladder
formula
mouth of animal
cell

l'ampoule
la foule
la crapule
la capsule
la pninsule

bulb, blister
crowd, multitude
crook
capsule
peninsula

Exceptions:
le prambule
le tentacule

practice

preamble
tenticle

le testicule
le ventricule

testical
ventricle

practice all of the above

-gue
l'intrigue
la fatigue

intrigue, plot
fatigue

la drogue
la vogue

drug
fashion

Exceptions: le dialogue dialog, le monologue monolog, le catalogue catalog

practice

-que
la polmique

controversy

la nuque

back of the neck

there are a lot of academic subjects ending in -que

l'arithmtique
la linguistique

arithmetic
linguistics

l'informatique

computer science

Exceptions:
le moustique
l'lastique
le Mexique
l'astrisque
le cirque
le disque
le manque

mosquito
elastic
Mexico
asterisk
circus
disk
lack

le risque
le phoque
le kiosque
le casque
le chque
le classique

risk
seal
kiosc
helmet
check (bank)
classic

-ne
la haine
la plaine

hate
plain

Exceptions:le magazine
names of gas : le oxygne, le hydrogne

l'aine
la chane

groin
chain

-phone ending nouns

le microphone, le saxophone, le xylophone, le phone, le tlphone
la campagne
l'pargne

countryside
thrift, economy

la ligne
la montagne

line, row
mountain

la vigne

vine

Exceptions:
le cygne
le champagne

swan
champagne

l'insigne
le gne

badge
embarrassment

le peigne
le rgne

comb
kingdom

practice

-pe
l'tape
l'quipe

stage
team

la gupe
la lampe

lamp
wasp

la jupe
la soupe

skirt
soup

Exceptions: le groupe group, le type type

All words ending with the -ope ending are masculine.
l'isotope
l'horoscope

le microscope
le gyroscope

le tlescope

-ure
aller
ouivert
peint
tourner
la froidure
l'heure
la coiffure
la figure
l'injure

l'allure
l'ouverture
la peinture
la tournure
coldness
hour
hairstyle
face
insult

Exceptions: le murmure

walk, gait
opening
paint
turn of events
la rayure
la blessure
la mesure
la culture
la mixture

stripe
injury
measure
culture
mixture

-se
la phrase
la crevasse

la danse
la dfense

sentence

dance
defence

Exceptions:le malaise

-esse ending nouns (the following are all formed from adjectives )
robuste
vite
souple
petit

robust
fast
flexible
small

la robustesse
la vitesse
la souplesse
la petitesse

strength, hardiness
speed
flexibility
smallness

Others:
la paresse
la caresse

laziness
caress

la promesse

promise

-te
la porte
la lutte
la chute
la rvolte
la cte
la goutte
la grotte
la tte

door
struggle, fight
fall
revolt
rib
drop
cave
head

la faute
la cravate
la carte
la tempte
la fte
la pente
la fente
la suite

error, mistake
tie
menu
storm
party
slope
crack, slot
continuation

Exceptions:
le coyote
l'antidote
le conte
le doute
le compte

coyote
l'antidote
story
doubt
count

le culte
le geste
l'inceste
l'insecte
le manifeste

cult
gesture
incest
insect
protest

le reste
le tumulte
le parachute
le vote
le zygote

chemists take note...

le nitrate

nitrate

le carbonate

remainder
turmoil, uproar
parachute
vote
zygot

l'azote

nitrogen

le sulfate

-ette
la baguette
la barquette

baguette
small boat

la cassette
l'oubliette

casette
secret dungeon

Exceptions: le squelette skeleton

practice

-ve
l'preuve
la grve

test
strike

la larve
la lessive

larva
washing

la sve
la rive

sap
riverbank

Exceptions: le fleuve river, le rve dream

Part II Feminine Examples

The ranks of the following nouns are heavily feminine despite not ending in mute e.

-on
drink
cooking
song
function

la leon
la maison
la moisson
la mousson

lesson
house
harvest
monsoon

la nation
la pension
la prison
la ranon
la trahison

nation
pension
prison
ransom
betrayal

l'avion

airplane

le crayon

pencil

le jambon

ham

le camion

truck

le flocon

snowflake

le savon

soap

l'ion

ion

le scorpion

scorpion

le feuilleton

soap opera

le champignon

mushroom

la boisson
la cuisson
la chanson
la fonction

Exceptions:

Often augmentative nouns are formed by adding -on to another noun. They are
always masculine.

la balle
la veste
la carte

ball
short jacket
menu, card

le ballon
le veston
le carton

balloon,football
jacket
cardboard

-aison (100% feminine)

la raison

reason

la saison

season

-tion, -sion endings (100% feminine)

progresser
traduire
exposer
communiquer
polluer
reprsenter
rvler
apprcier

to progress
to translate
to expose
to communicate
to pollute
to represent
to reveal
to appreciate

la progression
la traduction
l'exposition
la communication
la pollution
la reprsentation
la rvlation
l'apprciation

progression
translation
exhibition

Others:
la compassion compassion
la diffusion
diffusion

l'illusion
l'occassion

illusion
occasion

la tlvision
la version

television
version

practice

l'acn

acne

la cl

key

-t
la libert, l'egalit, la fraternit
liberty, equality, fraternity
l'avidit
l'austrit

eagerness
austerity

la cit
la charit

city, town
charity

la nationalit

nationality

la beaut

beauty

la docilit

docility

la raret

rarity

Exceptions: le comit committee, le ct side, l't summer

-ti
l'amiti

friendship

la moiti

half

la piti

pity

heat
color
error

la fleur
la fureur
l'horreur
la liqueur

flower
fury
horror
liquor

la peur
la sueur
la valeur
la vapeur

fear
sweat
vapor
value

-eur
la chaleur
la couleur
l'erreur

Many of these are formed from adjectives

blanche
grande
profonde

white
large
deep, profound

la blancheur
la grandeur
la profondeur

whiteness
largeness
profoundness

Exceptions:
le bonheur
l'quateur
l'extrieur

happiness
equator
exterior

le facteur
l'honneur
le labeur

factor
honor
labor

l'intrieur
le malheur
le secteur

interior
unhappiness
sector

Nouns that perform an action or professions are always masculine.

l'aspirateur

vacuum cleaner l'exportateur

exporter

le rupteur

circuit-breaker

l'ordinateur
le conglateur

computer
freezer

engineer
liar

le rflecteur
le projecteur

reflector
projector

practice

Homonyms

l'ingnieur
le menteur

Gender determines the meaning of the following words. Careful! We wouldn't want a
war to start because of a gender mistake.
Masculine

Feminine

auteur

author hauteur

bal

height

a small ball like a

tennis or golf ball,
larger balls
areballons

balle

bout

tip, end boue

capital

mud

money (capital) capitale

chne

capital city

oak tree chane

cours

chaine

lesson, class cour

foie

liver fois, foi

livre

book livre

maire

courtyard
time, faith
pound currency
mother
sea

mayor mre / mer

mal

harm, evil malle

trunk

handle

manche

merci

manche

sleeve

thank you merci

mercy
mussel

moule

mould(cast) moule

pre/au pair

paire
father,
au pair paire de lunettes
pair of glasses

pair

tour

(Le Tour de France) tour

(La Tour Eiffel)

vase

vase vase

sludge

veil

voile

sail

voile

French gender is a constant headache for many students of French. Why is

manteau masculine andmontre feminine, when both men and women wear both
of them? What's the logic behind gender in French? There's no simple answer to
this question, and no simple way to know the gender of every noun other than
just learning the gender with each word. There are, however, some patterns in
suffixes and word endings - certain endings tend to indicate masculine nouns,
while other endings favor feminine nouns. As you can see by the lists of
exceptions, these gender patterns are not fool-proof, but they can help you to
figure out the gender of many French nouns.
Here are some suffixes that usually indicate masculine nouns , as well as some
important exceptions.
-age
Exceptions: la cage, une image, la nage, la page, la plage, la rage
-b
-ble
Exceptions: une cible, une table, une fable, une table
-c
Exception: la fac ( apocope of la facult)
-cle

Exception: une boucle

-d
-de
Exceptions: la bride, la merde, la mthode, la pinde; -ade, -nde, -ude endings
-
Exceptions: la cl, la psych; s, t, and ti endings
-eau
Exceptions: l'eau, la peau
-ge
Exception: la Norvge
-et
-eur
Note: this applies mainly to names of professions and mechanical/scientific
things; also see -eur on the feminine endings page
-f
Exceptions: la soif, la clef, la nef
-i
Exceptions: la foi, la fourmi, la loi, la paroi
-ing
-isme
-k
-l
Exception: une roseval

-m
Exception: la faim
-me
Exceptions: une alarme, une me, une arme, la cime, la coutume, la crme,
l'cume, une nigme, une estime, une ferme, une firme, une forme, une larme,
une plume, une rame, une rime, -mme ending
-ment
Exception: une jument
-n
Exceptions: la faon, la fin, la leon, la main, la maman, la ranon; -son and -ion
endings
-o
Exceptions: la dactylo, la dynamo, la libido, la mto, la moto, la steno (most of
these are apocopes of longer feminine words)
-oir
-one
-ou
-p
-r
Exceptions: la chair, la cour, la cuiller, la mer, la tour (see feminine -eur)
-s
Exceptions: la brebis, la fois, une oasis, la souris, la vis
-ste
Exceptions: la liste, la modiste, la piste; names for people like un(e) artiste, un(e)
nudiste, etc.

-t
Exceptions: la burlat, la dent, la dot, la fort, la jument, la mort, la nuit, la part, la
plupart, la ziggourat
-tre
Exceptions: la fentre, une hutre, la lettre, la montre, la rencontre, la vitre
-u
Exceptions: l'eau, la peau, la tribu, la vertu
-x
Exceptions: la croix, la noix, la paix, la toux, la voix

Notes
Obscure exceptions are not listed.
To avoid confusion, dual-gender nouns are not listed.
Please share your comments/additions/critiques on the forum .

French gender
is a constant headache for many students of French. Why is tmoin always
masculine and victimealways feminine, when men and women can be
either/both? What's the logic behind gender in French? There's no simple answer
to this question, and no simple way to know the gender of every noun other than

just learning the gender with each word. There are, however, some patterns in
suffixes and word endings - certain endings tend to indicate masculine nouns,
while other endings favor feminine nouns. As you can see by the lists of
exceptions, these gender patterns are not fool-proof, but they can help you to
figure out the gender of many French nouns.
Here are some suffixes that usually indicate feminine nouns , as well as some
important exceptions.
-ace
Exceptions: un ace, un palace
-ade
Exceptions: le grade, le jade, le stade
-ale
Exceptions: un chle, un ptale, un scandale
-ance
-be
Exceptions: un cube, un globe, un microbe, un tube, un verbe
-ce
Exceptions: un artifice, un armistice, un appendice, le bnfice, le caprice, le
commerce, le dentifrice, le divorce, un exercice, un office, un orifice, un
prcipice, un prince, un sacrifice, un service, le silence, le solstice, le supplice,
un vice
-c
Exception: un crustac
-e
Note: most countries and names that end in e are feminine
-ee
Exception: un pedigree

-e
Exceptions: un apoge, un lyce, un muse, un prige, un trophe
-esse
-eur
Note: this applies mainly to abstract qualities and emotions, except le bonheur,
l'extrieur, l'honneur, l'intrieur, le malheur, le meilleur. Also see -eur on the
masculine endings page.
-fe
Exception: le golfe
-ie
Exceptions: un incendie, le foie, le gnie, le parapluie, le sosie
-ire
Exceptions: l'arrire, le cimetire, le derrire
-ine
Exceptions: le capitaine, le domaine, le moine, le magazine, le patrimoine
-ion
Exceptions: un avion, un bastion, un billion, un camion, un cation, un dominion,
un espion, un ion, un lampion, un lion, un million, le morpion, un pion, un scion,
un scorpion, un trillion
-ique
Exceptions: un graphique, un priphrique
-ire
Exceptions: un auditoire, un commentaire, un dictionnaire, un directoire, un
horaire, un itinraire, l'ivoire, un laboratoire, un navire, un pourboire, le
purgatoire, le rpertoire, le salaire, le sommaire, le sourire, le territoire, le
vocabulaire

-ise
-ite
Exceptions: l'anthracite, un ermite, le granite, le graphite, le mrite, l'opposite, le
plbiscite, un rite, un satellite, un site, un termite
-lle
Exceptions: le braille, un gorille, un intervalle, un mille, un portefeuille, le
vaudeville, le vermicelle, le violoncelle
-mme
Exceptions: un dilemme, un gramme, un programme
-nde
Exception: le monde
-nne
-ole
Exceptions: le contrle, le monopole, le rle, le symbole
-rre
Exceptions: le beurre, le parterre, le tonnerre, le verre
-se
Exceptions: un carosse, un colosse, le gypse, l'inverse, un malaise, un
pamplemousse, un parebrise, le suspense
-s
Exceptions: un expos, un oppos
-sion
-son
Exceptions: un blason, un blouson
-t

Exceptions: un arrt, le comit, le comt, le ct, un dput, un t, le pt, le

trait
-ti
-tion
Exception: le bastion
-ude
Exceptions: le coude, un interlude, le prlude
-ue
Exception: un abaque
-ule
Exceptions: le prambule, le scrupule, le tentacule, le testicule, le vhicule, le
ventricule, le vestibule
-ure
Exceptions: le centaure, le cyanure, le dinosaure, le murmure

Notes
Obscure exceptions are not listed.
To avoid confusion, dual-gender nouns are not listed.
Please share your comments/additions/critiques on the forum .

The gender of French nouns tends to be a sticky grammar point for students,
especially when it does not exist in their mother tongue. Although getting the
gender right is very important, most of the time the wrong gender will not hinder

your ability to understand or to communicate in French, because most words

have a single gender.*
However, there are a number of French nouns which are identical in
pronunciation (and often spelling as well) but which have different meanings
depending on whether they are masculine or feminine. Probably a good idea to
memorize this list. :-)
un aide - male assistant
une aide - help, assistance, female assistant
un air - air, look, aria
une aire - area, zone, eyrie
un aller - one-way trip
une alle - avenue, path, aisle
un auteur - author
une hauteur - height
le bal - dance
la balle - ball (sports)
le bar - bar/pub, bass (fish)
la barre - bar/rod, barre, helm
le barbe - barb
la barbe - beard
les barbes (f) - ragged edge
le barde - bard (poet)
la barde - bard (armor for a horse, fat wrapped around meat)
le basilic - basil, basilisk
la basilique - basilica
le basque - Basque language

la basque - tails (of a jacket)

le boum - bang, explosion, (fam) success
la boum - (inf) party
le bout - tip, end
la boue - mud
le bugle - bugle
la bugle - bugleweed
le but - aim, goal, purpose
la butte - hillock, mound
le cache - card/mask (for hiding s.t.)
la cache - cache, hiding place
le capital - capital, money
la capitale - capital city, capital letter
le carpe - carpus
la carpe - carp
le cartouche - (archeology) cartouche
la cartouche - cartridge, carton
le casse - break-in, robber
la casse - breaking, damage, breakages
le cave - (familiar) idiot, sucker
la cave - basement, cellar
le central - center court, (telephone) exchange
la centrale - station, plant, group
le cerf - stag
la serre - greenhouse

le champagne - champagne
la Champagne - Champagne region
le chne - oak tree/wood
la chane - chain, channel, stereo
le chvre - goat cheese
la chvre - goat
le chine - china, rice paper
la chine - second-hand / used trade
la Chine - China
le chose - thingie, contraption
la chose - thing
le claque - opera hat, (familiar) brothel
la claque - slap
le coche - stagecoach
la coche - check mark, tick (on a form)
le col - collar, neck
la colle - glue
le coq - rooster
la coque - hull, fuselage, cockle
le cours - class
le court - (tennis) court
la cour - courtyard, court of law
le crme - coffee with cream
la crme - cream
le crpe - crepe material

la crpe - thin pancake

le cric - jack
la crique - creek, inlet
le critique - male critic
la critique - criticism, review, female critic
le diesel - diesel fuel
la diesel - diesel automobile
un enseigne - ensign (rank)
une enseigne - sign, ensign (flag, banner)
un espace - space, room
une espace - printing space
une Espace - car model from Renault
le fait - fact
le fate - summit, rooftop
la fte - party
le faune - faun
la faune - fauna
le faux - fake, forgery, falsehood
la faux - scythe
le fil - thread, yarn, string
la file - line, queue
le finale - finale (music)
la finale - final (sports)
le foie - liver
la foi - faith
une fois - once, one time

le foret - drill bit

la fort - forest
le foudre - (ironic) leader, large cask
la foudre - lightning
le garde - guard, warden, keeper
la garde - guard duty, custody, private nurse
le gne - gene
la gne - trouble, bother, embarrassment
le geste - gesture
la geste - gest, epic poem
le gte - shelter, cottage; bottom round (meat)
la gte - list, inclination of a ship
le greffe - court clerk's office
la greffe - transplant, graft
le guide - guide (book, tour)
la guide - girl scout/guide
les guides (f) - reins
un icone - icon (computer)
une icne - icon (art, celebrity)
un interligne - space (typography)
une interligne - lead (typography)
le jars - gander
la jarre - jar
le kerms - scale insect, kermes (tree)
la kermesse - fair, bazaar, charity party

le krach - stock market crash

la craque - (familiar) whopping lie
le lac - lake
la laque - lacquer, shellac, hairspray
le lgume - vegetable
la grosse lgume (informal) - big shot
le lieu - place
la lieue - league
le livre - book
la livre - pound (currency and weight)
Go on to page 2
*For example, un bureau (desk) is masculine and une chaise (chair) is feminine.
Saying "une bureau" or "un chaise" is incorrect, but still understandable. Other
words have two different forms for masculine and feminine versions ( un
avocat/une avocate, un acteur/une actrice ) or a single form that refers to a man
or a woman depending on which article is used ( un touriste/une touriste, un
artiste/une artiste ).
le maire
- mayor
la mer - sea
la mre - mother
le mal - evil
le mle - male
la malle - trunk
le manche - handle
la manche - sleeve
la Manche - English Channel

le manuvre - laborer
la manuvre - maneuver, operation
le manille - Manila cigar, Manila hat
la manille - (card game) manille; Manille shackle
le manque - lack, shortage, fault
la manque - (familiar) crummy, second-rate
le mari - husband
la mari - marijuana ( apocope of la marijuana )
Marie - feminine name
le martyr - male martyr
le martyre - martyrdom, agony
la martyre - female martyr
le Maure - Moor
le mors - bit (horse-riding)
le mort - dead body
la mort - death
le mauve - mauve
la mauve - mallow plant
le mec (informal) - guy, bloke
la Mecque - Mecca
le mgot - cigarette butt
la mgot - cigarette
le mmoire - memo, report, memoirs
la mmoire - memory
le merci - thanks
la merci - mercy

le mi - mi (musical note E)
la mie - soft part of bread
le mi-temps - (work) part-time
la mi-temps - (sports) half, half-time
le micro-onde - microwave oven
la micro-onde - microwave (electromagnetic radiation)
le mite - moth
la mythe - myth
le mode - method, way, mood
la mode - fashion
le moral - morale
la morale - moral (of a story), morals
le mou - softness
la moue - pout
le moule - mold
la moule - mussel
le mousse - ship's boy (apprentice)
la mousse - moss, froth, foam, mousse
le mur - wall
la mre - blackberry
le nocturne - night hunter (bird), nocturn (religion), nocturne (music, art)
la nocturne - late night store opening, sports match, meeting
un uvre - body of work
une uvre - piece of work, task
un office - office, bureau

une office - pantry

un ombre - grayling (fish)
une ombre - shade, shadow
orange (m) - orange (color)
une orange - orange (fruit)
le page - page boy
la page - page (of a book)
le pair - peer
le pre - father
la paire - pair
Pques (m) - Easter
la pque - Passover
les Pques (f) - Easter
le parallle - parallel (figurative)
la parallle - parallel line
le pendule - pendulum
la pendule - clock
personne (m) - ( negative pronoun ) no one
la personne - person
le pet - (familiar) fart
la paie - pay
la paix - peace
le physique - physique, face
la physique - physics
le plastique - plastic
la plastique - modeling arts, body shape

le platine - platinum
la platine - turntable, deck, strip of metal
le poche - paperback book
la poche - pocket, pouch
le pole - stove
la pole - frying pan
le poids - weight
le pois - pea, dot
la poix - pitch, tar
le poignet - wrist, (shirt) cuff
la poigne - handful, fistful; handle
le poison - poison, (informal) unpleasant man or boy
la poison - (informal) unpleasant woman or girl
le politique - politician
la politique - politics, policy
le ponte - (informal) big shot
la ponte - laying eggs, clutch of eggs
le poste - job, post, tv/radio set
la poste - post office, mail/post
le pot - jar, pot, tin, can
la peau - skin
le pub - pub/bar
la pub - ad ( apocope of publicit )
le pupille - male ward
la pupille - pupil (eye), female ward

le rade (slang) - bar, bistro

la rade - harbor
le radio - radio operator
la radio - radio, X ray
le rai - spoke (wheel)
la raie - line, furrow, scratch (fish) skate, ray
le rclame - (falconry) the cry to recall the bird
la rclame - publicity; en rclame - on sale
le relche - rest, respite, break**
la relche - rest, respite, break**, port of call
**For these meanings, relche can be masculine or feminine.
le renne - reindeer
la reine - queen
la rne - rein
le rve - dream
la rave - rave party (but not rave meaning "turnip," which is pronounced
differently)
le rose - pink (color)
la rose - rose (flower)
le roux - red, redhead, roux (soup base)
la roue - wheel
le secrtaire - male secretary, writing desk, secretary
la secrtaire - female secretary
le sel - salt
la selle - saddle

le soi - self, id
la soie - silk
le sol - ground, floor, soil
la sole - sole (fish)
le solde - balance (account), sale
la solde - pay
le somme - snooze, nap
la somme - sum, amount
le souris - smile (archaic)
la souris - mouse
le tic - tic, twitch
la tique - tick
le tour - tour, turn, trick
la tour - tower, rook (chess)
le tout - whole
la toux - cough
le trompette - trumpeter
la trompette - trumpet
le vague - vagueness
la vague - wave
le vapeur - steamer
la vapeur - steam, haze, vapor
le vase - vase
la vase - silt, mud
le vigile - night watchman

la vigile - vigil
le visa - visa (to enter a country)
la visa - Visa (credit card)
le voile - veil
la voile - sail

http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/resources/french/grammar-guides/masculinefeminine/

Essential French Grammar

Masculine and Feminine
In English, the gender of nouns is based on sexual characteristics. For example, girl, cow, and queen are feminine,
while boy, bull, and king are masculine. Nouns that do not have sexual attributes are neutral, which means they have
no gender. In French, all nouns have a gender, either masculine or feminine.
Because French articles agree with the nouns they refer to, French articles also have gender. The chart below shows
the difference between the masculine and the masculine forms of articles.

article

Masculine

Feminine

Le

La

L'

e article

in front of a vowel

Un

L'

in front of a vowel

Une

A lot of nouns that refer to men form their feminine forms simply by adding an e, as in ami>amie "friend," or
in employ>employe "employee." Of course, if the word already ends in an e, there is no need to add an extra one.
For example, lve "student" can be either masculine or feminine.
Sometimes the masculine and feminine forms of nouns are very different from each other. Here are some

examples:
Homme>femme "man, woman"
Taureau>vache "bull, cow"
Neveu>nice "nephew, niece"

Other patterns of change include:

- f > -ve (veuf>veuve "widower, widow")
-x > -se (poux>pouse "husband, wife")
-eur>-euse (danseur>danseuse "male dancer, female dancer")
-an>-anne (paysan>paysanne "male farmer, female farmer")
-ion>-ionne (lion>lionne "lion, lionness")
When the same word is used to refer to men and women, its gender changes according to the sex of the
person to whom it refers. Examples: un collgue/une collgue "a colleague"; un Belge / une Belge "a Belgian
man/woman."
Some words have only one possible gender, regardless if they refer to a man or a woman, a boy or a girl.
Thus bb "baby" is always masculine, even if the word is used to refer to a baby girl. Here is a list of words that

behave in the same way:

Une vedette "a star" is always feminine.
Un guide "a guide" is always masculine.
Une personne "a person" is always feminine.
Une victime "a victim" is always feminine.
Sometimes, gender makes total sense. For example, just like in English, fille "girl," vache "cow," and reine "queen"
are feminine. But most of the time, gender seems arbitrary. For instance, table "table" is feminine, while avion "plane"
is masculine. Gender is purely a grammatical matter in these cases. Fortunately, there are patterns that help us
distinguish between feminine and masculine words.
There are many exceptions to most patterns. Check in a dictionary to be sure of a noun's gender.

Some patterns are based on meaning, while other

are based on form.

uline gender: Patterns based on meaning

the week

and seasons

es

nd shrubs

s and wines

nd minerals

le lundi "Monday"
le mercredi "Wednesday"
dcembre "December"
le printemps "spring"
l'hiver "winter"
le franais "French"
le roumain "Romanian"
le pommier "the apple tree"
le platane "the plane tree"

Exceptions : la ronce "bramble," la vigne "vine," l'aubpine "hawthorn"

le champagne "Champagne"
le bordeaux "Bordeaux wine"
le camembert "camembert"
le gruyre "gruyere"
le platine "platinium"

and measures

l'or "gold"
le diamant "diamond"
le rubis "ruby"

Exceptions : l'amthyste "amethyst", la turquoise "turquoise", l'ambre "ambe

tourmaline "tourmaline", l'meraude "emerald", l'opaline "opal"
le bleu "blue"
le vert "green"
le litre "liter"
le quart "quart"
Exception : la moiti "half"

uline gender: Patterns based on form

ormed from infinitives

ormed from adjectives

nding in ai

nding in age

nding in ment

nding in isme

nding in oi

ending in oir

nding in ou

le devoir "duty"
le rire "laughter"
l'impossible "that which is impossible"
le srieux "seriousness"
le balai "broom"
l'essai "essay"
le village "village"
le voyage "journey"
un appartement "apartment"
le vtement "garment"
un organisme "organism"
le cyclisme "cycling"
un emploi "a job"
un tournoi "a tournament"
un miroir "mirror"
le soir "evening"
le chou "cabbage"
le genou "knee"

nine gender: Patterns based on meaning

of fruit and vegetables ending in e

la banane "banana"
l'orange "orange"
la carotte "carrot"
Exceptions: le concombre "cucumber," le pamplemousse "grapefruit"

designating women, ending n esse, -euse, -ienne, - trice and ire

la conductrice "the female driver"

la fermire "the female farmer"
l'esthticienne "the beautician"

of academic subjects

la philosophie "philosophy"
la linguistique "linguistics"
la limousine "the limousine"

of cars

la Mercedes "the Mercedes"

nine gender: Patterns based on form

la monnaie "currency"

nding in aie

la plaie "wound"
la bataille "battle"

nding in aille

les fianailles "engagement"

la baleine "whale"

nding in eine

la peine "punishment"
l'influence "influence"

nding in ence

la carence "deficiency"
la haine "hatred"

nding in aine

une centaine "a hundred"

nding in euse

la tondeuse "lawnmower"

nding in ie

la partie "part"
la vie "life"
l'altitude "altitude"

nding in tude

l'habitude "habit"

uns ending in a double consonant + -e

la taille "size"
la baisse "a drop"
la chaussette "sock"

Exceptions : le squelette "skeleton," le gorille "gorilla," le portefeuille "

Some words have different meanings depending on

whether they are masculine or feminine.

For instance, le critique is "a critic," while la critique means "criticism." Here are some other examples:
Un aide "assistant," une aide "help," or "female assistant"
Le garde "guard," la garde "protection"
La mort "death," le mort "dead person"
Le pole "stove/heater," la pole "frying pan"
Le tour "trick/tour," la tour "tower"

Le La - Rules for
Articles / Gender in
French
Introduction
In French language, there are two definite articles for nouns in singular: le for masculine
gender and la for feminine gender. Both le and la become l' when they precede a noun
beginning with a vowel or a silent h. All nouns in plural have the article les.
French native speakers know mostly intuitively what the article of each noun is.
However, non-native speakers need to memorize the articles. There are several rules
and guidelines determining the articles of some categories of nouns. But beware
exceptions.

Rules for Masculine Gender

The following categories of nouns are masculine:

Names of trees: chne, rable, amandier, pin;

Names of languages: anglais, franais, slovaque;
Names of seasons: printemps, t, automne, hiver;
Names of months: janvier, juillet, dcembre;
Names of days of the week: lundi, mardi, dimanche.

Furthermore, nouns with the suffixes below are masculine:

ement: commandement, vnement, retirement;

ier: courrier, quartier;
k: crack, tank;
lon: papillon, melon, salon;
oir: miroir, rservoir, savoir;
ron: citron, macaron, vigneron;
sme: capitalisme, cynisme, mcanisme;
ton: bton, canton, piton;

Most nouns with the suffixes below are masculine:

age: bagage, courage, garage;

exceptions: cage, image, plage, rage;
c: bloc, parc, tabac;
exceptions: arobic, fac;
d: accord, canard, lopard;
exception: barmaid;
g: bourg, rang, sang;
exceptions: santiag, tong;
in: jardin, lapin, train;
exceptions: fin, main;
iste: hdoniste, motoriste;
exceptions: liste, piste;
m: album, denim, gram;
exception: faim;
non: canon, champignon, oignon;
exceptions: guenon;
ome: atome, idiome, syndrome;
exception: cardamome;
t: accent, aroport, dsert, mont, mot;
exceptions: fort, nuit, dent, part;
u: bijou, chteau, niveau, pneu;
exceptions: eau, peau, vertu;
us: autofocus, jus, radius, virus;
exception: vnus;

Rules for Feminine Gender

Nouns with the suffixes below are feminine:

ade: dcade, olympiade, salade;

aison: maison, raison, saison;
sion: rvision, tlvision, version;
ssion: admission, compression, passion;

Most nouns with the suffixes below are feminine:

tion: correction, rdaction, orientation;

exception: bastion;
ude: altitude, etude, fraude;
exceptions: coude, prlude;

Nouns with Both Genders

Many nouns in French can have both genders. In some cases, the gender determines
the meaning of the word:

le livre (book), la livre (pound);

le page (young nobleman), la page (page);
le tour (turn), la tour (tower);

In other cases, both genders are possible: aprs-midi, enzyme, interview.

Many nouns referring to persons and functions / professions have the same feminine
and masculine form: le / la diplomate, le / la stomatologue.

In French language each noun is either masculine or feminine. There is no explanation

of why "table" (table) is feminine and "lit" (bed) is masculine. You should just know
it. The easiest way to remember the French nouns gender is to memorize it together
with its article, as definite and indefinite articles in French language have different
form in feminine and masculine (une table, un lit or la table, le lit). It is important to
know the nouns gender because adjectives, articles and some verbs agree with the
nouns they are related to and also may have different forms or endings for masculine
and feminine (une grande table, un grand lit). For some French nouns the gender is
obvious: un homme (a man), une fille (a girl); for other it is not so apparent: une
maison (a house), un arbre (a tree).

General rules.
In French language there are some categories of words that are generally masculine
or feminine.
Masculine names:

Category

Examples

Names of languages:

le franais (French)

Names of days of the week,

months and seasons:

le lundi (Monday), le janvier (January), le

printemps (spring)

Names of cheeses and wines:

le camembert, le champagne, le bordeaux

Names of trees and shrubs:

le sapin (pine)

Exceptions

une
aubpine
(hawthorn),
la ronce
(bramble),

la vigne
(vine)
une
meraude
(emerald),
la perle
(pearl), la
roche
(rock)

Names of metals and minerals: le fer (iron)

Names of colors:

le bleu (blue)

Numbers and letters:

le six (number six), le "a" (letter "a")

numerals
ending in
aine: la
soixantaine
(about
sixty)

Weights and measures:

le litre (litre), le gramme(gram), le mtre

(metre), le quart (quarter)

la moiti
(half)

Names of aeroplanes:

le Concorde, le Boeing

la Caravelle

Feminine names:
Category

Examples

Exceptions

Names of academic subjects:

la chimie (chemistry)

le droit (law)

Names of fruit and vegetables ending in e: la pomme (apple), la carotte (carrot) le concombre
(cucumber), le
pamplemousse
(grapefruit)

Names of cars:

une Peugeot

Names of watches:

une Rolex

French gender patterns

In French language there are certain suffixes which can signalize you what
gender the word can be. In the table below you may find some typical masculine
and feminine suffixes. Almost each rule has exceptions, some of them we also
included in the table.
Masculine
suffixes
(ending)

Exceptions

Feminine
suffixes

Exceptions

-age

Une cage, une image, une page, la plage, la rage, la nage

-ace

Un espace

-ble

une cible, une table, une fable, une table

-ade

le grade, le
jade, le
stade

-ale

un chle, un
ptale, un
scandale

-c

-cle

une boucle

-de

-ance
-be

un cube, un
globe, un
microbe, un
tube, un
verbe

-eau

l'eau, la peau

-c

un crustac

-ge

la Norvge

-ence

le silence

-e

un apoge,
un lyce, un
muse, un

-eme

prige, un
trophe
-et
-f

-esse
la soif, la clef, la nef

-fe

le golfe

-ie

un incendie,
le foie, le
gnie, un
parapluie,
un sosie

-ire

l'arrire, le
cimetire, le
derrire

-ing

-ine

le capitaine,
le domaine,
le moine, le
magazine, le
patrimoine

-isme

-ique

un
graphique,
un
priphrique

-g

-i

la foi, la fourmi, la loi, la paroi

-k

-ise

-l

-lle

le braille, un
gorille, un
intervalle,
un mille, un
portefeuille,
le
vaudeville,
le
vermicelle,
le
violoncelle

-m

la faim

-nne

une jument

-nde

le monde

-oir

-rre

le beurre, le
parterre, le
tonnerre, le
verre

-one

-s

un expos,
un oppos

-ou

-sion

-p

-son

un blason,
un blouson

une brebis, une fois, une oasis, une souris, une vis

-t

un arrt,
un comit,
un comt,
un ct, un
t, lun
pt, un
trait

une liste, une modiste, une piste

-ti

une dent, une dot, une fort, une jument, la mort, une nuit,
la part, la plupart

-tion

le bastion

une fentre, une hutre, une lettre, une montre, une

rencontre, la vitre

-ude

un coude,
un interlude,
le prlude

-u

l'eau, la peau, la tribu, la vertu

-ue

un abaque

-x

la croix, la noix, la paix, la toux, la voix

-ure

un centaure,
le cyanure,
un
dinosaure, le
murmure

-ment

-s

-ste
-t

-tre

French nouns with two genders

There are some French nouns that significantly change their meaning depending on
the gender. For example:
un cashe (mask)

une cashe (cache, hiding place)

un espace (space)

une espace (printing space)

un livre (book)

une livre (pound)

le mmoire (memorandum)

la mmoire (memory)

un mode (mode)

une mode (fashion)

un moule (mould, tin)

une moule (mussel)

un mousse (ship's boy)

une mosse (moss, froth)

un page (page (boy))

une page (page)

le poste (post, job, station)

la poste (post office, postal services)

un tour (trip)

une tour (tower)

le vase (vase)

la vase (mud)

etc.

There are also three French words which change their gender in plural : amour,
dlice and orgue
"Amour" (love) is masculine in singular and feminine in plural (un amour - ses
premires amours).
"Orgue" (organ) is masculine but may have feminine usage in plural (un orgue de belles orgues).
"Dlice" (delight) is masculine in singular and feminine in plural.

Writing in French with Masculine and Feminine

Nouns
By Laura K. Lawless from Intermediate French For Dummies
A basic, singular noun refers to just one of something: a book, the cheese, my house. In
English, that's about all there is to know about singular nouns. French, however, adds a
little more to it: Every noun has a gender (genre), either masculine or feminine.

Determining the gender of nouns

In French, all nouns have a gender. A noun's gender determines which form of articles,
adjectives, pronouns, and sometimes past participles you have to use, so knowing the
gender is vital to speaking and writing French. Some words even have different
meanings depending on their gender, like le mari(husband) and la mari (marijuana).
(Don't get those mixed up if you're talking to un policier [a police officer]!)
Most nouns that refer to people have a logical gender. Homme (man), garon(boy),
and serveur (waiter) are masculine, and femme (woman), fille (girl),
andserveuse (waitress) are feminine. Animals and inanimate objects, however, are
another kettle (poissonire feminine) of fish (poisson masculine). In most cases,
there's no way to just look at a word and know what gender it is you have to
memorize the gender of each word as you learn it.
The best way to remember the gender of nouns is to make sure your vocabulary lists
include an article for each noun. If possible, use indefinite articles (un and une); they
don't change in front of vowels. Then, when you look at your list, the gender of the
article tells you the gender of the noun.
A few word endings tend to indicate whether a noun is masculine or feminine. Words
that end in -age, as in message and mirage, and -eau, like manteau(coat)
and chapeau (hat), are usually masculine. On the other hand, most words that end in ion, like libration and possession, and -t, such as libert(freedom)
and galit (equality), are feminine. But there are exceptions, and, of course, thousands
of nouns don't end with these letters.

Making nouns feminine

Nouns that refer to people often have a masculine "default" form that can be made
feminine. Here's how to make the gender switch:

To make most of these nouns feminine, just add -e to the end: un tudiant(male
student) becomes une tudiante (female student).

If a masculine noun ends in -en or -on, add -ne for the feminine form: Un
pharmacien (pharmacist) becomes une pharmacienne.

Nouns that end in -er change to -re for the feminine: un cassier (cashier)
becomes une cassire

Nouns that end in -eur may become feminine with -euse or -rice: un
vendeur (vender) becomes une vendeuse; un tradecteur becomes une traductrice

Nouns that end in -e in the masculine form have no change for the feminine (other
than in the article, which changes to une, la, or de la).

According to the Acadmie franaise, which regulates the "purity" of the French
language, some nouns that refer to people, such as un mdecin (doctor) and une
victime (victim), retain their gender regardless of who they are applied to. Although this
is the official stance in France, other French-speaking countries such as Canada have
both masculine and feminine forms for most of these nouns.

Here is how you can know the gender of French

nouns with 80% accuracy
JULY 31, 2014 BY: BENJAMIN HOUY14 COMMENTS

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Feminine or masculine, that is the question you often ask yourself as a French
learner. After hours trying to figure out why cheveux (hair) is masculine and
chaise (chair) feminine, you came to the inevitable conclusion : the gender of
French nouns was randomly chosen by a bunch of sadistic linguists.
Luckily, this is not entirely true, and some patterns can help you determine the
gender of French noun. Here are several ways to know the gender of a
French noun.

Looking for a great grammar course? I recommend The Complete & Easy
French Grammar for Beginners. As a French Together reader, you get 60%
off

Associate each gender with a vivid image

Your French teacher told you to do this, and this may be the only solution in
some cases. But instead of simply learning each word and its gender by heart,
it can be smart to associateeach gender with an action in your brain.
You could imagine that masculine nouns fall into water while feminine nouns
are eaten by a monster. Associating each noun with such a vivid image helps
you remember its gender more easily.
The association needs to be personal, this must be something you will easily
remember. For example, If you love to sing, you could sing each word with a
different tone depending on its gender.

Guess the gender based on the words ending

According to a study by McGill University, a words ending indicates its gender
in 80% of cases . Based on this study, here is a list of typically masculine and
typically feminine noun endings.
Words with these endings were found to be of the same gender in more than
90% of cases.
I dont recommend you to learn these endings by heart since it would be
extremely boring. Instead, bookmark this page and regularly look at this list.

After a while, you will see that you can intuitively guess the gender of a noun
based on its ending.

Typically masculine word endings (+90%)

-an, -and, -ant, -ent, -in, -int, -om, -ond, -ont, -on (but not after s/c)
-eau, -au, -aud, -aut, -o, -os, -ot
-ai, -ais, -ait, -es, -et
-ou, -out, -out, -oux
-i, -il, -it, -is, -y
-at, -as, -ois, -oit
-u, -us, -ut, -eu
-er, -eafter C (C=t)
-age, -ege, ` eme, -ome/- ` ome, -aume, -isme
-as, -is, -os, -us, -ex
-it, -est
-al, -el, -il, -ol, -eul, -all
-if, -ef
-ac, -ic, -oc, -uc
-am, -um, -en
-air, -er, -erf, -ert, -ar, -arc, -ars, -art, -our, -ours, -or, -ord, -ors, -ort, -ir, oir, -eur
(if animate)
-ail, -eil, -euil, -ueil
-ing

Typically feminine word endings (+90%)

-aie, -oue, -eue, -ion, -te, ee, -ie, -ue

-asse, -ace, -esse, -ece, -aisse, -isse/-ice, -ousse, -ance, -anse, -ence, once
-enne, -onne, -une, -ine, -aine, -eine, -erne
-ande, -ende, -onde, -ade, -ude, -arde, -orde
-euse, -ouse, -ase, -aise, -ese, -oise, -ise, -yse, -ose, -use
-ache, -iche, -eche, -oche, -uche, -ouche, -anche
-ave, -eve, -ive
-iere, -ure, -eure
-ette, -ete, ete, -atte, -otte, -oute, -orte, -ante, -ente, -inte, -onte
-alle, -elle, -ille, -olle
-aille, -eille, -ouille
-appe, -ampe, -ombe
-igue