French grammar
French noun gender: how to know le or la
You cannot guess gender from meaning, but about three quarters of nouns follow an ending pattern. Learn the patterns, and learn the exceptions as words.
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French · lesson preview
Step 4Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
I would like a coffee, please.
- Order
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Say it out loud. Green landed, yellow was close.
Start freeUsually feminine endings
- -tion, -sion: la nation, la télévision
- -té: la liberté, la beauté
- -ure: la voiture, la culture
- -ance, -ence (usually): la chance, la science
- -ie, -ette: la vie, la fourchette
Usually masculine endings
- -ment: le moment, le gouvernement
- -age: le fromage, le voyage
- -eau: le bureau, le cadeau
- -isme: le tourisme
- -oir: le miroir, le couloir
Exceptions worth learning
La page, la plage, la cage and l'image are feminine despite -age. L'eau and la peau are the -eau exceptions. Le problème and le système are masculine despite looking feminine.
The best habit
Always learn a noun with its article: le livre, la voiture. Then the gender comes for free, and the right adjective endings follow.
Examples you can play
| Meaning · why | French |
|---|---|
| the nation · -tion: feminine | la nation |
| the moment · -ment: masculine | le moment |
| the liberty · -té: feminine | la liberté |
| the cheese · -age: masculine | le fromage |
| the car · -ure: feminine | la voiture |
| the desk, the office · -eau: masculine | le bureau |
| the page · an exception to -age | la page |
| the problem · an exception that looks feminine | le problème |
Mistakes to avoid
- Guessing gender from meaning. A person is not always masculine or feminine in the word, and objects have no logic.
- Learning the noun without the article.
- Forgetting the adjective: une voiture rouge, un livre rouge. The adjective agrees.
More on learning French: start French free.
Is there a rule I can fully trust?
No rule is perfect. Endings give the right answer most of the time, so use them as a strong hint and check new words in a dictionary.
Why does French have gender at all?
It is inherited from Latin, like Spanish and Italian. English lost it, which is why it feels foreign.
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