Identifying the gender of nouns by some specific word endings in French
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Knowing the gender of French nouns is one of the hardest things for English students.
Fortunately, we have some tips for you!
Note that they don't work 100% of the time (That would be too easy!), but it is as close you can get to a rule.
Learn how to identify the gender of nouns in French
1- Nouns ending with an -e are mostly feminine
This is not an absolute rule, but we can consider that easily 75% of words ending in -e are feminine.
Masculine words less often end in -e.
Masculine words less often end in -e.
ATTENTION:
-é, -ê, or -è are NOT considered as -e, but as a different letter, therefore don't necessarily follow that rule!
Now let's look at endings that don't match that first rule: you can easily remember them!
2- However -age, -ège and -isme endings tend to be MASCULINE
-age
Here note that the words following that rule all have -age as an ending to an existing word.
Ils se marient : je vais au mariage.They're getting married: I'm going to the wedding.
Les feuilles sont orange : c'est le feuillage d'automne.The leaves are orange: it's autumn foliage.
Dans ce pays, il y a un beau paysage.In this country, there is a beautiful landscape.
Quand tu colles des morceaux de papier ensemble, tu fais un beau collage.When you stick bits of paper together, you make a nice collage.
Whereas all the exceptions are very short words, where -age is not an extra ending:
une cage, une image, la nage (swimming), une page, la plage (beach), la rage ...
-ège
un manègea carousel
le collègethe secondary school
un privilègea privilege
Exception: la Norvège (Norway)
-isme
le RomantismeRomanticism
le capitalismeCapitalism
le CubismeCubism
3- Nouns that don't end in -e are usually masculine
Again, this is not an absolute rule, but we can consider that easily 80% of words ending in consonants are masculine. Moreover, endings in -é are also mostly masculine.
Feminine words less often end in consonants or -é.
Feminine words less often end in consonants or -é.
Now let's look at endings that don't match that first rule: you can easily remember them!
4- However, these exceptions that don't end in -e tend to be FEMININE
-tion, -sion, -ssion
la nationthe nation
la punitionthe punishment
une évasionan escape
la précisionprecision
une émission de téléa tv show
une impressionan impression
Exception: un bastion
-son
la maisonthe house
une conjugaisona conjugation
une saisona season
une chansona song
Exceptions: un poison, un pinson (type of bird), un vison (mink), un bison, un blouson ...
-té, -tié
la libertéFreedom
la beautéthe beauty
la communautéthe community
une amitiéa friendship
la pitiéthe pity
Exceptions with -té: un député, un aparté, un côté (side), un été (summer), un pâté, le karaté, un traité (treaty), un comté (county), un comité ...
Abstract nouns in -eur
la chaleurthe heat
la lenteurSlowness
la blancheurthe whiteness
la noirceurthe darkness
Exceptions: le bonheur (happiness), le malheur (misery), un honneur...
and all the non-abstract nouns in -eur: un ascenseur (elevator), un aspirateur (a vacuum cleaner), un chanteur (a singer)...
and all the non-abstract nouns in -eur: un ascenseur (elevator), un aspirateur (a vacuum cleaner), un chanteur (a singer)...
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