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February 26, 2025

Mastering French Gender of Nouns: The Ultimate Guide

Mastering French Gender of Nouns: The Ultimate Guide

Understanding French Noun Genders

In French, every noun has a gender - either masculine or feminine. This concept might seem challenging for English speakers, but it's fundamental to speaking French correctly. Just like we learned in our guide about French Christmas terms, knowing the gender of nouns helps you use the right articles and adjectives.

Basic Gender Articles

Masculine Feminine
le (the) la (the)
un (a/an) une (a/an)

Important

When a noun starts with a vowel or silent h, use l' instead of le or la: (the man) (the school)

Common Gender Patterns

Masculine Noun Endings

Most nouns ending in these sounds are masculine:

Ending Example
-age
-ment
-eau
-isme

Feminine Noun Endings

Similar to what we explored in our kitchen vocabulary guide, many culinary terms follow these feminine patterns:

Ending Example
-tion
-sion
-té
-ie

Natural Gender Rule

Notes

Nouns referring to males are masculine, while those referring to females are feminine: (father) - masculine (mother) - feminine

Exceptions and Special Cases

Professions

As discussed in our conversation practice guide, profession nouns can be tricky:

Masculine Feminine

Countries and Languages

Examples

Countries ending in -e are usually feminine: , Other countries are typically masculine: ,

Gender with Adjectives

Just as we learned in our French conjugation guide, agreement is crucial. Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they modify:

Masculine Feminine

Common Gender Pairs

Understanding related noun pairs can help memorize genders:

Masculine Feminine
(son) (daughter)
(brother) (sister)

Memory Tricks

Important

Create word groups based on gender. For example, most fruits are feminine: , , Exception:

Gender with Compound Nouns

Similar to what we covered in our spoken French guide, compound nouns usually take the gender of their main component:

Compound Noun Gender
Masculine (from "le porte")
Feminine (from "la mère")

Advanced Gender Recognition

As you progress toward using the French subjunctive, you'll develop an instinct for noun genders. Until then, remember these patterns:

Notes

- Abstract concepts ending in -age are masculine - Words ending in -ette are feminine - Most trees are masculine - Most flowers are feminine

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