Every noun has a gender
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine. There is no neuter, and even objects and ideas have a gender. The gender shows up in the article: masculine nouns take le / un, feminine nouns take la / une.
Le livre est intéressant.
The book is interesting.
La table est grande.
The table is big.
People follow their natural gender
For people, the grammatical gender usually matches the real one. Most feminine forms add -e: ami → amie. If the word already ends in -e, only the article changes: un élève, une élève. Some endings change instead: -eur → -euse (vendeur → vendeuse).
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| un ami | une amie | friend (m. / f.) |
| un étudiant | une étudiante | student (m. / f.) |
| un élève | une élève | pupil (m. / f.) |
| un vendeur | une vendeuse | salesperson (m. / f.) |
Paul est un ami.
Paul is a friend.
Julie est une amie.
Julie is a friend.
Endings that reveal the gender
For things, the ending is often a fairly reliable clue.
Usually masculine
Usually feminine
Le voyage est long.
The trip is long.
Le gâteau est bon.
The cake is good.
La solution est simple.
The solution is simple.
Whole groups share a gender
Masculine
Feminine
A well-known exception among countries ending in -e is le Mexique (Mexico).
Le français est une belle langue.
French is a beautiful language.
L'Europe est un grand continent.
Europe is a big continent.
