In French, there is a gender for all nouns : masculine or feminine even when it refers to objects. Learn more about it in this article !
Each noun has its own grammatical gender, whether feminine or masculine, influencing how it’s used in the language. For example, « la lune » (the moon) is feminine while « le soleil » (the sun) is masculine. This assignment of gender may seem arbitrary to you, and frankly, it’s true ! But it’s deeply rooted in linguistic and cultural tradition and except some little rules that you will find in this article, you just have to learn the gender for each word. I hope this article will help you understand and learn more about it thanks to various charts of exemples !
Articles :
For feminine nouns the articles are LA, L’ (definite), UNE (indefinite) in singular
For masculine nouns the articles are LE, L’ (definite) UN (indefinite) in singular
Common rules for determining the gender of nouns in French :
Certain endings tend to indicate gender (for instance -eau, -ment for masculine, -tion for feminine)
un manteau (a coat) – un médicament (a medicine)
une définition (a definition)
| Un bateau (a boat) | Le mouvement (movement) |
| Un tableau (a painting) | Le parlement (parliament) |
| Un chapeau (a hat) | Le recrutement (recruitment) |
| Un rideau (a curtain) | Le gouvernement (government) |
| Un plateau (a tray) | Le paiement (payment) |
| Un gâteau (a cake) | L’environnement (environment) |
But « eau » (water) is feminine : une eau plate (still water), une eau gazeuse (sparkling water)
« Peau » (skin) is also feminine : une belle peau (a beautiful skin)
Nouns ending in -age, -isme and -phone are typically masculine
le courage (courage) – le ménage (Households chores) – le piratage (piracy)
le favoritisme (favoritism)
le téléphone (the phone – un microphone (a microphone)
| Un mariage (a wedding) | Un reportage (a report) | Un nuage (a cloud)) | UNE image (a picture) |
| L’optimisme (optimism) | Le capitalisme (capitalism) | Le socialisme (socialism) | |
| Un smartphone (a smartphone) | Un microphone (a microphone) | Un dictaphone (a dictaphone) |
Nouns ending in -tion, -sion and -té are usually feminine.
Une précaution (a precaution)
La fusion (fusion) – une intrusion (an intrusion)
La parentalité (parenthood)
| Une information (an information) | Une illustration (a picture in a book) | Une fiction (a fiction) | L’éducation (education) | Une apparition (an apparition) | |
| Une profession (a profession) | Une mission (a mission) | La passion (passion) | Une division (a division) | Une conclusion (a conclusion) | |
| Une éternité (an eternity) | La fidélité (faithfulness) | La diversité (the diversity) | La beauté (the beauty) | La curiosité (curiosity) | UN thé |
Exceptions and Irregularities :
- Some nouns have the same form for both masculine and feminine (un artiste – une artiste)
- Some nouns change meaning depending on their gender (un avocat (fruit=avocado), une avocate(a lawyer for a woman))
Even if these rules can be helpful, there are many exceptions, and memorization is often necessary
So exposure to language and pratice are really importants.
Advice
When you learn a new word, also learn its gender.
A few noun with its gender :
| Feminine gender | Masculine gender |
| La famille (the family) | Le travail (the work, the job) |
| La lune (the moon) | Le soleil (the sun) |
| Une idée (an idea) | Un concept (a concept) |
| Une plante (a plant) | Un arbuste (a shrub) |
| Une fille (a girl) | Un garçon (a boy) |
Bonus :
Chart of household objects in French categorized by masculine and feminine nouns.
Tableau des objets de la maison en français répartis en noms masculins et noms féminins.
Chart of 10 professions categorized by masculine and feminine nouns.
Tableau de 10 professions réparties en noms masculins et féminins.
It will be accessible soon.