Language/French/Grammar/Nouns-which-change-form-when-they-refer-to-males-or-to-females
Nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. Unfortunately there are no simple rules which non-native speakers can use to predict with complete accuracy the gender of a given noun. However, there are some patterns, either in the form or meaning of nouns, which can normally be used to predict the correct gender with greater than chance accuracy. The reader should remember, however, that these patterns are not comprehensive, and that there are exceptions.
Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Possessive determiners, Omission of the article, Invariable adjectives & Summary table of articles.
Regular patterns[edit | edit source]
words ending in -i, -é, -u, -l[edit | edit source]
For words ending in -i, -é, -u, -l an -e is added in the written form and the pronunciation remains the same:
| French | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| un ami | une amie | a friend |
| un employé | une employée | an employee (worker) |
| un rival | une rivale | a rival |
words ending in -d, -t, -ois, -ais, -er, -ier[edit | edit source]
For words ending in -d, -t, -ois, -ais, -er, -ier an -e is added and the final consonant, previously not pronounced, is pronounced:
| French | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| un marchand | une marchande | a trader |
| un candidat | une candidate | a candidate |
| un avocat | une avocate | a lawyer |
| un bourgeois | une bourgeoise | a bourgeoisie) |
| un boulanger | une boulangère | a baker |
| un berger | une bergère | a shepherd |
| un fermier | une fermière | a farmer |
| un caissier | une caissière | a checkout operator |
| un romancier | une romancière | a novelist |
words ending in -ien, -on, -an, -in, -ain[edit | edit source]
For words ending in -ien, -on, -an, -in, -ain in written form -(n)e is added and the final vowel, previously pronounced as a nasal vowel, is pronounced as an oral vowel plus -n:
| French | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| un chien | une chienne | a dog/a bitch |
| un lion | une lionne | a lion/a lioness |
| un paysan | une paysanne | a farmer |
| un gitan | une gitane | a gypsy (pejorative) |
| un voisin | une voisine | a neighbour |
| un Africain | une Africaine | an African |
add -esse[edit | edit source]
Some nouns add -esse.
| French | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| un âne | une anesse | a donkey |
| un chanoine | une chanoinesse | a canon/canoness (religious) |
| un comte | une comtesse | a count I countess |
| un diable | une diablesse | a devil/she-devil |
| un drôle | une drôlesse | someone a little odd |
| un hôte | une hôtesse | a host/hostess |
| un ivrogne | une ivrognesse | a drunkard |
| un maître | une maîtresse | a master/mistress (in the school context) |
| un ogre | une ogresse | an ogre |
| un pauvre | une pauvresse | a poor person |
| un prêtre | une prêtresse | a priest/priestess |
| un prince | une princesse | a prince/princess |
| un Suisse | une Suissesse | a Swiss person |
| un tigre | une tigresse | a tiger/tigress |
Nouns ending in -eur which are not derived from a French verb[edit | edit source]
Nouns ending in -eur which are not derived from a French verb, change –eur to -rice:
| French | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| un ambassadeur | une ambassadrice | an ambassador |
| un directeur | une directrice | a director |
| un empereur | une impératrice | an emperor/empress |
Those ending in -eur which are derived from a French verb[edit | edit source]
Those ending in -eur which are derived from a French verb change to -euse:
| French | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| un chanteur | une chanteuse | a singer |
| un menteur | une menteuse | a liar |
| un voleur | une voleuse | a thief |
Irregular patterns[edit | edit source]
In addition to these regular patterns there are a number of masculine/feminine forms where the words are quite different:
| French | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| un héros | une héroïne | a hero/heroine |
| un époux | une épouse | a husband/wife |
| un neveu | une nièce | a nephew/niece |
| un homme | une femme | a man/woman |
| un fils | une fille | a son/daughter |
| un garçon | une fille | a boy'/girl |
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Homophones
- Quantifiers — tout and chaque
- Questions
- Well Better Worse
- Wrong use of neutral le in phrases where 'it' occurs in English
- How to Guess the Gender of French Nouns
- Gender of the noun indicated by its final letter
- "de" when an adjective precedes the noun
- Verbs which take noun + adjective or noun + noun complements
- Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives — A change in written, but not spoken
- Position of object pronouns with imperatives
- How to use falloir
- An adjective agreeing with nouns linked by et, ou or ni
- Ditransitive verbs
- Stressed pronouns with même, aussi, seul, autres, tous and numerals