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French Noun Gender
French noun gender is the rule that every noun is either masculine or feminine, usually shown by le or la. You cannot reliably guess every noun, but common endings make gender predictable often enough to be useful.
The goal is not to feel the gender of every object. Learn the most reliable endings, memorize famous exceptions as full chunks, and always store a new noun with its article: le problème, la solution, une idée. Gender then becomes a vocabulary habit, not a separate puzzle.
In short
- Learn nouns with an article: le problème, la solution, une idée.
- Feminine endings often include -tion, -té, -ette, -ance, -ence, -ure.
- Masculine endings often include -age, -eau, -isme, -ment.
- These are patterns, not laws: words like
le problèmeandla merare best memorized with their article.
masculine nounfeminine noungender ending· hover a highlighted word for its label
Gender lives in the noun
English nouns do not have grammatical gender, so "table" is just "table". French makes table feminine: la table, une table, cette table. The noun’s gender then affects surrounding words — articles first, and later adjectives, possessives, some pronouns, and country prepositions. Adjective endings are covered in adjective agreement; this page only decides the noun’s own gender.
| Masculine chunk | Feminine chunk |
|---|---|
| le café | la maison |
| un problème | une idée |
| ce journal | cette question |
The problem is the solution.
— Problème is masculine even though it ends in -e; solution is feminine.
The library is near the school.
— Both nouns are feminine chunks: la bibliothèque and l’école.
Reliable feminine endings
Endings are statistics, not magic, but several feminine endings are strong enough to learn early. Nouns ending in -tion are usually feminine: la question, la solution, la nation. So are many nouns in -té, -ette, -ance, -ence, and -ure — though le silence is the most common exception to -ence.
| Ending | Common examples |
|---|---|
| -tion | la question, la solution |
| -té | la liberté, la santé |
| -ette | la baguette, la recette |
| -ance / -ence | la chance, la différence |
| -ure | la voiture, la culture |
Freedom is a French tradition.
— -té and -tion strongly point feminine.
The recipe is on the table.
— Recette ends in -ette, a common feminine ending.
Reliable masculine endings
Several endings point masculine just as strongly. Nouns in -age are usually masculine — le fromage, le voyage, le garage — though la plage and une image are famous exceptions. Nouns in -eau, -isme, and -ment are usually masculine.
| Ending | Common examples |
|---|---|
| -age | le fromage, le voyage |
| -eau | le bureau, le gâteau |
| -isme | le tourisme, le journalisme |
| -ment | le gouvernement, le moment |
The new office is near the station.
— Bureau ends in -eau, a masculine pattern.
Tourism changes the city.
— Tourisme ends in -isme, normally masculine.
People and professions
For people, grammatical gender usually follows the person. A man is un ami, a woman is une amie; a male teacher is un professeur, and many speakers now say une professeure for a female teacher. Some profession words change ending (un acteur → une actrice, un boulanger → une boulangère), while others are identical in speech or spelling. Learn the common pair, not only the masculine form.
My neighbor is a baker.
— The person is female, so the profession is feminine: boulangère.
He is a journalist and she is a journalist too.
— Some profession nouns are identical; here the pronouns carry the person’s gender.
Common words to memorize with their article
Because endings are only patterns and many everyday nouns follow none of them, a short list of common words pays off: le problème, le système, le programme, le musée, le silence, la mer, la main, la fin, and l’eau. Store them with the article every time.
The museum is closed, but the sea is beautiful.
— Musée is masculine; mer is feminine.
Water is cold today.
— Eau is feminine, but l’ hides the gender in the article.
Same word, two genders
A few words change meaning when gender changes. These are not random mistakes; they are two separate vocabulary items that happen to share a spelling. The classic pair is le tour (a turn, a trip) and la tour (a tower).
The city tour lasts an hour; the tower is closed today.
— Tour can mean "trip"; tour can mean "tower".
Common mistakes
✗La problème est simple.
✓Le problème est simple.
Problème is masculine despite its final -e; learn it as le problème.
✗Le solution arrive demain.
✓La solution arrive demain.
Nouns ending in -tion are usually feminine, including solution.
✗J’aime la fromage.
✓J’aime le fromage.
Fromage ends in -age, a usually masculine ending; la plage is the exception, not the model.
✗Le liberté est importante.
✓La liberté est importante.
The -té ending often points feminine, and liberté is feminine.
Check yourself
1 / 4___ question est importante.
2 / 4___ voyage commence lundi.
3 / 4___ problème est urgent.
4 / 4___ eau est froide.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a French noun is masculine or feminine?
Start with the ending, then confirm by learning the noun with an article. Endings like -tion and -té often point feminine; endings like -age, -eau, -isme and -ment often point masculine.
Are French nouns ending in -e always feminine?
No. Many are feminine, but common masculine nouns include le problème, le système, le programme and le musée. The final -e is a clue, not a rule.
Why is problème masculine and solution feminine?
Because gender belongs to the French noun, not to the idea. Problème is a masculine exception to the final -e pattern, while solution follows the very common feminine -tion pattern.
Does noun gender change in the plural?
No. Gender stays the same when a noun becomes plural: le problème becomes les problèmes, still masculine; la question becomes les questions, still feminine. Plural endings are covered separately in plural of nouns.
Is noun gender the same thing as adjective agreement?
No. Noun gender tells you whether the noun itself is masculine or feminine; adjective agreement is how adjectives change to match that noun. Learn noun gender first, then adjective endings.
Memory tip
Never learn problème alone. Learn le problème, la question, une idée, un voyage — the article is part of the word for a learner.
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