Take the fastest path to fluent French
In French, adjectives describing nationalities change depending on the gender they refer to.
Nationalities in French
Here's how to ask people their nationality:
(informal)
(formal)
Look at these examples:
Note that the word for the nationality changes whether the person is masculine (français) or feminine (française).
Note also that nationalities used as adjectives (as opposed to nouns, see * below) never start with a capital letter in French, unlike English.
Usually, they take an -e in the feminine form.
Nationalities in -ian in English often become -ien in French:
For these nationalities ending in -ien, the feminine will be -ienne.
See also Forming the feminine of nouns and adjectives ending in "-ien/-ion/-on" in French
* Nationalities: adjectives versus nouns
Nationalities used as adjectives are NOT capitalised, whereas they are capitalised when used as nouns:
Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
