Masculine or feminine? Le or la?
Type a French noun to see its gender, its meaning and the ending rule behind it, including when it's an exception.
Endings that give gender away
Measured on the 2,583 nouns in our dictionary, so you can see how far to trust each rule.
| Ending | Gender | How reliable | Examples | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -tion | feminine (la) | almost always (100% of 148) | question, direction, solution | none in our dictionary |
| -sion | feminine (la) | almost always (100% of 38) | télévision, décision, discussion | none in our dictionary |
| -ance | feminine (la) | almost always (100% of 32) | chance, connaissance, avance | none in our dictionary |
| -euse | feminine (la) | almost always (100% of 10) | voleuse, menteuse, danseuse | none in our dictionary |
| -elle | feminine (la) | almost always (100% of 22) | nouvelle, criminelle, jumelle | none in our dictionary |
| -esse | feminine (la) | almost always (100% of 23) | adresse, vitesse, promesse | none in our dictionary |
| -ise | feminine (la) | almost always (100% of 16) | entreprise, église, chemise | none in our dictionary |
| -ure | feminine (la) | almost always (98% of 46) | heure, voiture, chaussure | murmure |
| -ence | feminine (la) | almost always (97% of 36) | expérience, conséquence, différence | silence |
| -ette | feminine (la) | nearly always (97% of 29) | assiette, fourchette, cigarette | squelette |
| -té | feminine (la) | nearly always (94% of 67) | société, santé, vérité | côté, comité, comté, député |
| -ine | feminine (la) | nearly always (91% of 45) | semaine, copine, voisine | capitaine, magazine, domaine, moine |
| -ière | feminine (la) | nearly always (91% of 22) | rivière, lumière, infirmière | arrière, cimetière |
| -ie | feminine (la) | nearly always (90% of 62) | pluie, maladie, joie | génie, incendie, foie, zombie |
| -ude | feminine (la) | usually (89% of 9) | étude, habitude, attitude | coude |
| -ade | feminine (la) | usually (88% of 8) | camarade, brigade, fusillade | stade |
| -ée | feminine (la) | usually (88% of 24) | idée, journée, année | musée, trophée, lycée |
| -ique | feminine (la) | usually (87% of 15) | musique, scientifique, technique | plastique, moustique |
| -eau | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 42) | bureau, cadeau, gâteau | none in our dictionary |
| -oir | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 12) | pouvoir, espoir, couloir | none in our dictionary |
| -ier | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 50) | quartier, métier, papier | none in our dictionary |
| -ail | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 7) | travail, détail, e-mail | none in our dictionary |
| -eil | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 9) | soleil, réveil, appareil | none in our dictionary |
| -ard | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 18) | retard, connard, regard | none in our dictionary |
| -ant | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 29) | instant, étudiant, restaurant | none in our dictionary |
| -ent | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 15) | argent, client, président | none in our dictionary |
| -al | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 17) | journal, hôpital, animal | none in our dictionary |
| -et | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 36) | billet, projet, sujet | none in our dictionary |
| -ou | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 10) | trou, chou, bijou | none in our dictionary |
| -er | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 26) | petit-déjeuner, déjeuner, dîner | none in our dictionary |
| -at | masculine (le) | almost always (100% of 18) | état, chat, résultat | none in our dictionary |
| -ment | masculine (le) | almost always (99% of 67) | moment, gouvernement, vêtement | jument |
| -in | masculine (le) | almost always (98% of 53) | matin, copain, voisin | main |
| -age | masculine (le) | nearly always (94% of 35) | message, voyage, fromage | plage, image |
| -is | masculine (le) | usually (89% of 9) | avis, paradis, palais | brebis |
Same word, different gender, different meaning
- le livre: book · la livre: pound
- le tour: turn, tour · la tour: tower
- le poste: job, position · la poste: post office
- le mode: method, mode · la mode: fashion
- le manche: handle · la manche: sleeve
- le moule: mould · la moule: mussel
- le vase: vase · la vase: mud
- le critique: critic · la critique: criticism, review
Common masculine nouns
temps, an, monde, jour, point, homme, pays, mot, moment, cas, groupe, état, nom, mois, problème, cours, travail, nombre, côté, âge, père, cœur, corps, pied, sens, dieu, service, argent, ordre, rapport, fils, frère, million, matin, soir, instant, début, milieu, exemple, genre, mari, livre, bureau, lit, mur, garçon, bébé, copain, voisin, patron, client, médecin, professeur, étudiant, roi, peuple, gouvernement, droit, pouvoir, président
Common feminine nouns
fois, heure, femme, chose, vie, main, place, ville, tête, fin, question, semaine, fille, force, eau, nuit, histoire, famille, idée, voix, mère, porte, lettre, maison, terre, guerre, façon, pièce, sœur, journée, année, chambre, école, voiture, route, rue, table, fenêtre, moitié, copine, voisine, étudiante, société, entreprise, loi, police, armée, télévision, télé, radio, musique, chanson, photo, fête, viande, pomme, banque, gare, église, campagne
Test yourself with the le or la quiz, or learn the rules properly in French articles and noun gender.
Questions
How do you know if a French noun is masculine or feminine?
The ending is the best clue: nouns in -tion, -sion, -ance, -ence, -té, -ette and -ure are almost always feminine; nouns in -ment, -age, -eau, -isme, -ier and -oir are almost always masculine. The table on this page shows how reliable each ending is. For everything else, learn the noun with its article: la table, le livre.
Is there a rule for nouns ending in -e?
Not a reliable one. Many nouns ending in -e are feminine (la table, la porte), but many common ones are masculine (le problème, le livre, le monde). Learn those with their article.
What about l'?
Before a vowel or a mute h, le and la both become l' (l'eau, l'arbre), so the gender doesn't show. Use un or une, or an adjective, to hear it: une eau froide, un arbre immense.
Why does gender matter?
It changes the articles, the adjectives and the pronouns: le petit livre, la petite table; je le vois, je la vois. Getting it wrong is understandable, but it's one of the first things native speakers notice.