A1 · Nouns
French noun gender: le or la
English nouns are just things. French nouns come with a gender: masculine or feminine. It is not about the object being manly or womanly. A table is feminine. A book is masculine. You learn it with the word, the way you learn a first name.
What gender actually is
Every French noun is either masculine (le) or feminine (la). People have a gender you can see. Objects, ideas, and days of the week have one you cannot guess from English. The article is part of the word. Do not learn “table”. Learn “la table”.
When you speak, gender shows up everywhere: the article, the adjective, sometimes the past participle. Get the noun wrong and the rest of the sentence wobbles. Get it with the article from day one, and you skip years of “why is my sentence ugly?”
Learn the article with the noun
le café
the coffee / the café (masculine) la maison
the house (feminine) le problème
the problem — ends in -e, still masculine The ending is a hint, never a law.
la voiture
the car (feminine)
Patterns that help — and lie
Some endings are reliable enough to use. Treat them as shortcuts, then check the exceptions when they matter.
Usually feminine
| Ending | Examples |
|---|---|
| -tion, -sion | la nation, la décision |
| -té | la liberté, la santé |
| -ette, -elle | la baguette, la chaussette |
| -ance, -ence | la chance, la différence |
la nation is a classic. Most -tion words follow it.
Usually masculine
| Ending | Examples |
|---|---|
| -age, -isme | le fromage, le tourisme |
| -ment | le moment, le gouvernement |
| -eau, -eu | le bureau, le feu |
| -phone, -scope | le téléphone, le microscope |
People, jobs, and mixed groups
For people, gender usually follows the person. Many job titles now have a feminine form. In the plural, a mixed group still takes the masculine — that is the traditional rule you will hear, even if it feels unfair.
un ami / une amie
a (male) friend / a (female) friend le professeur / la professeure
the teacher — both are used ils sont arrivés
they arrived — even if the group is mostly women Spoken French is slowly shifting. You will still hear the old rule everywhere.
Try this out loud
Say these with the article. Do not say the English word first.
le pain
the bread
la clé
the key
le train
the train
la gare
the station
Questions this page usually raises
Keep going
Next grammar pages — same English, next rule.
A1 · Articles
French articles: le, un, and du
The difference between le/la, un/une, and du/de la — the, a, and some — with examples you would actually say.
Read this resourceA1–A2 · Adjectives
French adjectives: agreement and place
How French adjectives change for gender and number, and why most of them sit after the noun.
Read this resourceA2 · Past
The passé composé: talking about what happened
How the passé composé works: avoir or être + past participle, agreement, and the sentences you actually need.
Read this resource
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