Forming the feminine of nouns and adjectives ending in "-ien/-ion/-on" in French

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2023-01-12

18 questions

In French, nouns and adjectives ending in -ien, -ion, and -on have specific feminine forms.

Learn how to make the feminine form of nouns and adjectives ending in -ien, -ion, and -on in French

Look at these nouns and adjectives ending in -ien, -ion, and -on :

Ton fils est mignon, et ta fille est mignonne aussi.Your son is cute, and your daughter is cute too.

Il y a un château ancien et une église ancienne.There is an ancient castle and an ancient church.

Voilà un bon gâteau et une bonne boisson.Here is a good cake and a good drink.

Usain Bolt est un champion.
Serena Williams est une championne.Usain Bolt is a champion.
Serena Williams is a champion.

Au zoo, il y a un lion et une lionne.At the zoo, there is a lion and a lioness.

Andrew est australien, et Emma est aussi australienne.Andrew is Australian, and Emma is also Australian.

To form the feminine form of nouns and adjectives ending in -ien, -ion and -on, you double the 'n' and add an 'e' at the end
-> -ienne, -ionne, -onne.

Cases of nationalities:

Note that nationalities used as adjectives are NOT capitalised, whereas they are capitalised when used as nouns:

Ma petite amie est canadienne.My girlfriend is Canadian.

Je connais un Canadien qui vit de l'autre côté de la rue.I know a Canadian who lives across the street.

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Examples and resources

J'ai un chien et une chienne.I have a dog and a female dog.