Learning French means becoming familiar with French gender rules—every noun is classified as either masculine or feminine.
While this may seem confusing at first, recognizing common patterns can make it much easier.
Why is gender important in French
In French, gender influences more than just the noun itself—it affects the articles (le, la, un, une), adjectives, and sometimes even verb forms. Using the wrong gender can cause misunderstandings and make your speech sound less natural.
French is not unique in this respect; many Romance languages assign gender to nouns. Spanish and Italian, like French, have masculine and feminine forms with similar patterns. German adds a third gender—neuter—making it a bit more complex.
How to identify masculine and feminine nouns
There’s no universal rule to determine a noun’s gender, so the best approach is to learn nouns along with their articles (e.g., la table, le livre). Over time, this will become intuitive.
To help you get started, especially if your native language doesn’t use grammatical gender, here are common patterns based on noun endings.
Typical feminine noun endings
- -e: la voiture (the car), la pomme (the apple), la plage (the beach)
- -tion / -sion: la solution (the solution), la télévision (the television), la discussion (the discussion)
- -té: la liberté (freedom), la beauté (beauty), la santé (health)
- -ure: la culture (culture), la peinture (painting), la fermeture (closing)
- -eur (from verbs): la couleur (color), la chaleur (heat), la peur (fear)
Typical masculine noun endings
- -ment: le gouvernement (the government), le paiement (the payment), le bâtiment (the building)
- -age: le fromage (cheese), le voyage (trip), le paysage (landscape)
- -isme: le tourisme (tourism), le capitalisme (capitalism), le réalisme (realism)
How to form feminine and masculine nouns
Generally, the feminine form is created by adding -e to the masculine noun. For example, un étudiant becomes une étudiante (student).
If the masculine noun already ends with -e, the spelling usually remains the same, and the feminine form is indicated by the article. For example, un élève becomes une élève (student).
| Transformation | Masculine noun | Feminine noun |
|---|---|---|
| Add -e | un apprenti | une apprentie |
| No change if ends with -e | un élève | une élève |
| -er changes to -ère | un cuisinier | une cuisinière |
| Double final consonant | un chien | une chienne |
| -eur changes to -euse | le coiffeur | la coiffeuse |
| -e changes to -esse | un prince | une princesse |
Articles and their masculine and feminine forms
In French, nouns are always preceded by an article that shows their gender:
| Type of Article | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| Definite article | le | la |
| Indefinite article | un | une |
| Partitive article | du | de la |
| Demonstrative article | ce / cet | cette |
| Possessive adjectives | mon / ton / son | ma / ta / sa |
| Plural definite article | les | les |
| Plural possessive adjectives | mes / tes / ses | mes / tes / ses |
Masculine and feminine French names
French personal names also have masculine and feminine versions.
Many feminine names are formed by adding -e to the masculine form, like Paul and Paule, while others add suffixes such as -ine, -ette, or -ie—for example, Joseph becomes Joséphine.
| Masculine name | Feminine name |
|---|---|
| Jean | Jeanne |
| Paul | Paule |
| Julien | Juliette |
| François | Françoise |
| Joseph | Joséphine |
| Henri | Henriette |
| Louis | Louise |
For more helpful French lessons and insights into French culture, visit our blog.
