Generally, nouns referring to male beings are masculine; nouns referring to female beings are feminine.
un
homme (a man); une fille (a girl)
un chat (a cat); une chatte (a
female cat)
Some endings can indicate gender:
Masculine Endings:
Normally, nouns with the following endings are masculine:
| -acle | le miracle (the miracle); le spectacle (the spectacle) |
| -age | le village (the village), le passage (the passage) |
| -ail | le travail (work), l'ail (garlic) |
| -al | le cheval (the horse), le journal (the newspaper) |
| -as | le tas (the heap), le bas (the bottom) |
| -et | le cabinet (the cabinet), le paquet (the package) |
| -eu/eux | le feu (the fire), le jeu (the game), le sérieux (seriousness) |
| -eur | le coiffeur (the hairdresser), le compresseur (the compressor) |
| -in/ain/ein | le pain (bread), le frein (the brake) |
| -is | le radis (the radish), le tapis (the carpet) |
| -isme | le racisme (racism), le cyclisme (biking) |
| -ment | l'établissement (the establishment), le changement (the change) |
| -oir | le devoir (the duty), le pouvoir (the power) |
| -ou | le trou (the hole), le fou (the madman) |
The gender may also be determined by the meaning of the noun.
Nouns which identify the following are masculine:
letters
of the alphabet
colors
days of the week, months, seasons, holidays
languages
metals, chemical products
trees, shrubs, bushes
flowers, fruits and vegetables not ending in e
rivers not ending in e
sciences and scholarly disciplines
wines, spirits, and cheeses
nouns borrowed from English
See Also: