French Gender of Words • Masculine and feminine words in french
In the French language, words have a gender, either masculine or feminine.
Understanding the gender of a word is essential to using it correctly in a sentence, especially when it comes to articles, adjectives, and pronouns.
How to tell the difference between masculine and feminine words in French?
One way to determine the gender of a word is by looking at its ending.
For example, words that end in -age, -ège, -ème, -ence, -isme, -ment, -oire, -age are usually masculine.
- Le voyage (journey)
- Le courage (courage)
- Le collège (school)
- Le système (system)
- Le silence (silence)
- Le journalisme (journalism)
- Le développement (development)
- Le mémoire (memory)
- Le siège (seat)
- Le poème (poem)
- Le présence (presence)
- Le tourisme (tourism)
- Le mouvement (movement)
- Le espoir (hope)
- Le nuage (cloud)
Words that end in -aison, -été, -té, -ence, -sion, -té, -tude, -ie are usually feminine.
- La maison (house)
- La raison (reason)
- La cité (city)
- La qualité (quality)
- La présence (presence)
- La discussion (discussion)
- La cruauté (cruelty)
- La solitude (loneliness)
- La vie (life)
- La liberté (freedom)
- La vérité (truth)
- La patience (patience)
- La société (society)
- La version (version)
- La série (series)
- La latitude (latitude)
However, it’s important to keep in mind that these are just general guidelines, and there are many exceptions.
Another way to determine the gender of a word is to memorize it along with its meaning.
For instance, the French word for “book” is “livre,” and it is masculine.
The French word for “teacher” (male) is “professeur“.
The French word for “teacher” (female) is “professeure“.
It’s also worth mentioning that some French words can have different gender depending on the country or region in which they are used. In these cases, it’s best to consult a French language dictionary or seek the advice of a native speaker.
In conclusion, the gender of a word is a crucial aspect of the French language, and it’s important to understand it to use words correctly in a sentence. While there are general guidelines to help determine a word’s gender, memorizing the gender of a word along with its meaning is the most effective way to ensure accuracy.
Here’s a list of some common masculine and feminine words in French with their English translations:
Masculine:
- Un livre (a book)
- Un chat (a cat)
- Un garçon (a boy)
- Un frère (a brother)
- Un soleil (a sun)
- Un père (a father)
- Un cheval (a horse)
- Un bras (an arm)
Feminine:
- Une voiture (a car)
- Une fille (a girl)
- Une soeur (a sister)
- Une lune (a moon)
- Une mère (a mother)
- Une chatte (a female cat)
- Une journée (a day)
- Une main (a hand)
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