How to determine the gender of nouns in French?

To determine the gender of a noun in French (whether a word is masculine or feminine), look at the article preceding the noun or the ending on the noun itself.

• Using the article:

  Dans ma classe, il y a un Suisse et une Belge.

  Translation: In my class there is a Swiss man and a Belgian woman.

• Using the ending:

  -ment = masculine (le gouvernement (meaning the government))

  -ure = feminine (la ceinture (meaning the belt))

  femininemasculine

  Il a acquis de l'expérience pendant ses nombreux voyages.

  Translation: He has gained experience during his several trips.

However, not all French nouns’ genders are straightforward, so we’ll also help you recognize the odd nouns which:

• are gender neutral, meaning they apply to both men and women:

  Sophie (f.) est un être (m.) adorable.

  Translation: Sophie is a lovely human being.

• change meaning whether they are masculine or feminine:

  Ce livre (m.) coûte une livre (f.) !

  Translation: This book costs a pound!

• have two spellings, meanings, and genders in French, but not in English:

  masculinefeminine

  Il y a un an (m.), il a passé une année (f.) merveilleuse.

  Translation: A year ago, he had a wonderful year.

Sometimes gender in French can be random, but there are some rules and tips which can help you unravel the mystery a bit. In this post, we’ll review tricks!

Ready to cover all the tips and tricks?

To tell the gender of a French noun, you can either:

• Look at the ending of the noun to see if it is traditionally feminine or traditionally masculine

• Use other grammatical clues in the sentence, like determiners, adjectives, or verb endings, to give you a hint.

Before we review these strategies, let’s first address a common question from French learners: Why bother learning the gender of nouns? Well, here are two reasons:

1. In French, articles, adjectives, and verbs can all agree in gender with the noun they modify.

   La mangue que j’ai mangée était mûre.

   Translation: The mango I ate was ripe.

   Le melon que j’ai mangé était mûr.

   Translation: The melon I ate was ripe.

2. French speakers will probably tease you if you say "une pain au chocolat" instead of “un pain au chocolat” (meaning a chocolate croissant). You will sound sweet, but you may want to sound serious!

So, let’s see how you can determine the gender of a French word, starting with looking at the ending of the noun. Sometimes, one or only a few letters can reveal whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

To determine the grammatical gender for living French nouns, such as people and animals, simply refer to the biological gender of the noun. Take a look:

For more examples of animals that have only one gender in French versus animals with two noun forms, refer to our helpful list!

You may have noticed in the examples above that French often uses different words, or at least different spellings, for living nouns, depending on their biological gender. Indeed, French nouns can have variable endings based on the biological gender.

Therefore, the ending of a noun can help you determine the noun’s gender (and the person or animal’s biological gender).

Feeling good about determining the gender of living nouns?! Let’s get into non-living things now!

To determine the gender of non-living French nouns, you can use the noun ending patterns and other grammar clues discussed above, as well as the following tips meant specifically to help identify the gender of non-living nouns. Determining the gender for non-living nouns is a bit more complicated, since there is no biological gender to refer to. But don’t worry, we have some tips!

Some nouns in French are gender-neutral, meaning they can identify both females and males. We’ve seen earlier that some living nouns identifying men are masculine in gender, and others identifying women are feminine. “Epicene” nouns (gender-neutral nouns) are another type of French noun. Even though the noun may have a grammatical gender in French, it can be applied to a person of any biological gender. For example:

For more information on French epicene words, take a look at this cool French blog!​​

Sometimes, a change in gender in French will affect the meaning of the noun. There is a list of French nouns which are spelled exactly the same but change meaning depending on whether they are masculine or feminine. Don’t worry! Most of the time, the context will help you distinguish them and understand the meaning. I’ve selected a few examples for you, but feel free to check this list of words that change meaning from masculine to feminine for more!

Use the masculine form of matin (meaning morning), jour (meaning day), soir (meaning evening), and an (meaning year) when you are referring to a quantity. However, you may have also heard or read a longer version of these four masculine words above: matinée, journée, soirée, année. When we add -ée to these words, they become feminine in gender and can be used in slightly different contexts. While there is no difference in English, they are not interchangeable in French, so you’ll need to open your mind to a different way of thinking!

Use the masculine forms when they are described by some sort of quantity: time, numbers, or frequency with phrases such as tours les... (meaning every...)

Use the feminine forms when referring to the quality of the duration or description of an activity. For example, the feminine forms are often found with descriptive adjectives, with ordinal numbers, or approximate quantities (quelques (meaning a few), combien (meaning how many), une douzaine (meaning a dozen), etc.).

Here’s a summary of the uses:

In this post, we’ve reviewed how to determine the gender of a French noun. Keep the following in the mind when choosing the gender of a noun:

• Words ending in: -té, -ion, -ure, -ette = feminine

• Words ending in: -ment, -age, -o, -eau = masculine

• When talking about people, words ending in -e usually identify women.

• When reading or listening, look for grammar clues:

  • demonstratives (le, la, mon, ta, etc.),

  • adjectives (verte = f., whereas vert = m.)

  • verbs (faite = f., whereas fait = m.)

• If you are a flashcard fan like me, remember to learn new words with their article!
  LE pain, not just pain (meaning bread). Alternatively, check in the good old dictionary!

Ready for some practice? Practice your knowledge of French nouns and gender with this exercise!