Noun Gender in French

Level: A1. Every French noun has a gender — it is either masculine or feminine — and the gender decides which article you use (le or la, un or une) and how adjectives end. Gender is a grammar label, not a judgement about the thing itself, so the safest habit is to learn each noun with its article: not table but la table.

The rule

Grammatical gender means every noun belongs to one of two classes, masculin or féminin. There is no “neuter” and no “it”. You see the gender in the words around the noun:

• masculine: le livre, un livre (the/a book).
• feminine: la table, une table (the/a table).

The gender rarely follows the meaning. Un livre (a book) is masculine; une table (a table) is feminine; and the word’s form, not its meaning, is what counts — which is why the same sound can split into two words of different gender: le livre (book) vs la livre (pound), le tour (a turn/trip) vs la tour (a tower).

French spelling gives useful clues, though. The ending of a noun predicts the gender more often than not, so a handful of patterns will let you guess correctly most of the time — and then you memorise the exceptions.

Ending clues

These are tendencies, not laws. Use them to make a smart first guess, then confirm the gender in a dictionary and learn it for good.

How to say it

French spelling and sound diverge, so these are the traps in this lesson’s words:

Example sentences

Each sentence was written for this lesson.

1. Le livre est intéressant.
   The book is interesting.
   livre = masculine
2. La table est ronde.
   The table is round.
   table = feminine
3. La nation est unie.
   The nation is united.
   -tion → feminine
4. La liberté est précieuse.
   Freedom is precious.
   -té → feminine
5. Le fromage est délicieux.
   The cheese is delicious.
   -age → masculine
6. Le gouvernement est fort.
   The government is strong.
   -ment → masculine
7. Le bureau est grand.
   The office is big.
   -eau → masculine
8. L'eau est froide.
   The water is cold.
   -eau but feminine: une exception
9. Le problème est difficile.
   The problem is difficult.
   -ème → masculine
10. La couleur est belle.
    The colour is beautiful.
    -eur → feminine here
11. Le tourisme est important.
    Tourism is important.
    -isme → masculine
12. La page est blanche.
    The page is blank.
    -age exception: feminine
13. Le musée est fermé.
    The museum is closed.
    -ée exception: masculine
14. La télévision est allumée.
    The television is on.
    -sion → feminine
15. Une maison blanche.
    A white house.
    adjective agrees: blanche (f)
16. Un petit chien.
    A small dog.
    adjective agrees: petit (m)
17. La fleur est rouge.
    The flower is red.
18. Le jardin est joli.
    The garden is pretty.

Common mistakes

• ❌ la problème → ✅ le problème. Despite the silent -e, problème is masculine (like le système, le thème).
• ❌ le page → ✅ la page. -age words are usually masculine, but page, plage, cage and image are feminine.
• ❌ le eau → ✅ l’eau (feminine). Eau is feminine even though it ends in -eau; you only see the gender in adjectives: l’eau froide.
• ❌ un personne → ✅ une personne. Personne is always feminine, even when it refers to a man — gender here is grammatical, not about the real person.
• ❌ une livre (for a book) → ✅ un livre. Le livre is the book; la livre is the pound. Same sound, different gender, different meaning.

A short conversation

— Tu as le livre et la carte ? — Oui, et une bouteille d’eau aussi. — Parfait. Le voyage commence !

Here le livre (m), la carte (f), une bouteille (f) and le voyage (m) each take the article that matches their gender.

Usage notes

• The article reveals the gender. Because the noun itself rarely shows its gender, the article does the work: un/le flags masculine, une/la flags feminine. This is why dictionaries list nouns as n.m. or n.f.
• Before a vowel the article hides the gender. l’ami (m) and l’école (f) both use l’, so you cannot hear the gender. Recover it from un/une: un ami, une école.
• Some nouns change meaning with gender. le/la livre (book / pound), le/la tour (trip / tower), le/la poste (job / post office), le/la mode (method / fashion). Pick the gender that matches the meaning you want.
• Endings are a guide, not a guarantee. Treat -tion, -té, -age, -ment and the rest as first guesses. When in doubt, check a dictionary; a wrong gender is one of the most noticeable learner errors because it then spreads to the article and the adjective.

Compared with…

• Definite and indefinite articles — the article you choose (le/la, un/une) is the clearest signal of gender. See Definite Articles: le, la, les, l’.
• Adjective agreement — once you know the gender, adjectives must match it: un petit chien, une petite maison. See Adjective agreement.

These both live in the French grammar section.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

French noun gender practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Which article fits: ___ nation (a -tion noun)?

le la un l'

Check

Show answer

la — -tion nouns are feminine: la nation.

2 Choose le or la: ____ fromage est bon. (-age is usually masculine)

Check

Hint: most -age nouns are masculine

Show answer

le — le fromage: -age nouns are usually masculine.

3 Choose le or la for this -age exception: ____ page est blanche.

Check

Hint: page is one of the feminine -age words

Show answer

la — la page: page, plage, cage and image are feminine despite -age.

4 Order the words: 'The book is interesting.'

intéressantLeestlivre

CheckReset

Show answer

Le livre est intéressant — livre is masculine, so le livre; the adjective stays masculine.

5 Match each ending to its usual gender.

• -tion Match for -tion — choose — femininemasculine
• -té Match for -té — choose — femininemasculine
• -age Match for -age — choose — femininemasculine
• -ment Match for -ment — choose — femininemasculine

Check

Show answer

• -tion → feminine
• -té → feminine
• -age → masculine
• -ment → masculine

-tion and -té tend to be feminine; -age and -ment tend to be masculine.

Quiz

Check yourself

French noun gender

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1How many genders do French nouns have?

   A one B two: masculine and feminine C three, including neuter D it depends on the region
   Show answer

   two: masculine and feminine — French has two genders: masculine and feminine. There is no neuter.

2. 2___ table

   A le B la C un D l'
   Show answer

   la — table is feminine: la table.

3. 3Nouns ending in -tion are usually…

   A masculine B feminine C both D neuter
   Show answer

   feminine — -tion nouns are reliably feminine: la nation, la question.

4. 4Nouns ending in -ment are usually…

   A feminine B masculine C both D neuter
   Show answer

   masculine — -ment nouns are usually masculine: le gouvernement, le moment.

5. 5Which is correct?

   A la problème B le problème C un problème (feminine) D l'problème
   Show answer

   le problème — problème is masculine: le problème.

6. 6Why is it *l'eau froide* and not *l'eau froid*?

   A eau is masculine B eau is feminine, so the adjective is feminine (froide) C froid has no feminine D l' is always feminine
   Show answer

   eau is feminine, so the adjective is feminine (froide) — eau is feminine despite -eau, so the adjective takes the feminine form froide.

7. 7*Une personne* referring to a man is…

   A wrong — use un personne B still feminine: gender is grammatical C masculine because it's a man D either gender
   Show answer

   still feminine: gender is grammatical — personne is grammatically feminine whoever it describes: une personne.

8. 8'The book' vs 'the pound' is the difference between…

   A le livre and la livre B la livre and le livre C un livre and le livre D le livre and les livres
   Show answer

   le livre and la livre — le livre = the book; la livre = the pound. Gender changes the meaning.

9. 9Which -age word is feminine?

   A le fromage B le voyage C la plage D le garage
   Show answer

   la plage — plage is feminine (like page, cage, image); most other -age nouns are masculine.

10. 10Best way to learn a noun's gender is to…

    A guess from the meaning B learn it with its article (le/la) C ignore it until B2 D always use le
    Show answer

    learn it with its article (le/la) — Learn the noun with its article: la maison, le jardin.

11. 11Choose un or une: ____ liberté (a -té noun).
    Check
    Show answer

    une — -té nouns are feminine: une liberté.

12. 12The article before a vowel, *l'ami* and *l'école*, …

    A shows the gender clearly B hides the gender — check un/une C is always masculine D is always feminine
    Show answer

    hides the gender — check un/une — l' hides the gender; un ami (m) vs une école (f) reveals it.

Recap cheat-sheet

Learn each noun with its article, use the endings as a first guess, and check the exceptions.

Next

• Next: Adjective agreement
• Related: Definite Articles: le, la, les, l’
• New here? Start with Start Learning French Here