Le et La — Gender in French
Understand why French nouns are masculine or feminine. Learn patterns from word endings (-ion, -tion, -age, -eur) and common exceptions.
A lesson of French A1 — Beginner, in Gender & Articles, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will assign gender to French nouns using ending patterns and common rules, and understand why gender matters throughout the language.
Every French Noun Has a Gender
In French, every noun — not just people and animals — is either masculine or feminine. There is no neuter. This affects every word that relates to the noun: articles, adjectives, and pronouns all change to match.
le livre (the book — masculine) la table (the table — feminine)
There is no perfect rule, but word endings give strong clues. Learning endings now saves you thousands of individual memorizations.
Feminine Endings (-tion, -sion, -tion are always feminine)
| Ending | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| -tion | la révolution | the revolution |
| -sion | la passion | the passion |
| -ance | la chance | the luck/chance |
| -ence | la patience | the patience |
| -ée | la journée | the (day's) journey/day |
| -ie | la librairie | the bookshop |
| -ure | la voiture | the car |
| -ité | la liberté | the freedom |
| -esse | la jeunesse | the youth |
| -ette | la cassette | the cassette |
| -ière | la rivière | the river |
| -euse | la danseuse | the dancer (f.) |
Reliable rule: Nouns ending in -tion and -sion are virtually always feminine. Learn this one and apply it confidently.
Masculine Endings
| Ending | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|