MASCULINE WORDS IN FRENCH

OBJECTIFS DE LA LEÇON
◦ To learn to recognize masculine words based on some patterns

INTRODUCTION
Knowing whether a word is feminine or masculine is important in French as the
spelling of other elements in a sentence depends on that.

For example, an adjective which follows a masculine noun will have to reflect the
gender and number of that noun:

le pull vert - the green jumper (singular)

les pulls verts - the green jumpers (plural)

but with a feminine noun:

la robe verte - the green dress (singular)

les robes vertes - the green dresses (plural)

Unless it is a person like la maman or le papa, the gender of a word depends

often on the sound of the word rather than the actual image we have of the word
itself.

As we have already established in the lesson about feminine nouns, most words
which end in e and tion are feminine.

RAPPEL
It is useful to learn nouns with an article. The definite articles le (masculine) la
(feminine) les (plural) and l' (in front of an h or vowel) all mean the in French.
However, the right article must be placed before the noun depending on the
gender of that word.

It is also possible to use the indefinite article un (masculine) or une (feminine).

EXEMPLES
Some masculine words can be categorised. For example, the nouns belonging to
these categories are masculine:

▸ les saisons (seasons)

▸ les jours (days)
▸ les langues (languages)
▸ les arbres (trees)
▸ les fruits et les légumes (fruits and vegetables) with no e at the end.

Les saisons

Although the word saison is feminine, the actual seasons are masculine:

◦ un/l’hiver = the winter

◦ un/le printemps = the spring
◦ un/l’été = the summer
◦ un/l’automne = the autumn

Les jours

The word jour is masculine, and all the days of the week are masculine too.

◦ le lundi - Monday
◦ le mardi - Tuesday

Les langues

Though the word langue itself is feminine, languages are masculine.

◦ J’apprends le français et le japonais à l’école = I am learning French and

Japanese at school

Les arbres

Although the fruits are sometimes feminine, the trees are masculine.

◦ la pomme (the apple) = le pommier (the apple tree)

◦ la cerise (the cherry) = le cerisier (the cherry tree)
◦ poire (the pear) = le poirier (the pear tree)

Here are some more endings for masculine words. You will notice that some have
an e at the end but bear in mind that it is about the way the word sounds rather
than what it ends in.

◦ ier = le papier (paper), le pommier (apple tree), le métier (job)

◦ o/ot = le vélo (bike), le chariot (trolley)

Exception: la moto (motorbike), la météo (weather)

◦ ment = le gouvernement (governement), le médicament (medicine)

Exception: la jument (mare)

◦ an = le plan (plan), le roman (novel), l’océan (ocean), l’écran (screen)

◦ isme = l’organisme (organism), le socialisme (socialism), le féminisme

(feminism)

◦ ou = le chou (cabbage), le bijou (jewel), le caillou (pebble), le hibou (owl), le

genou (knee), le cou (neck)

◦ age = l’emballage (wrapping), le recyclage (recycling), l’âge (age), le ménage

(housework), le fromage (cheese), le courage (courage)

◦ oir = le trottoir (pavement), le couloir (corridor), le manoir (manor)

◦ oire = le territoire (territory), le laboratoire (laboratory)

◦ ard = le retard (delay), le hasard (coincidence)

◦ teur* = le tracteur (tractor), le moteur (motor/engine), le menteur (liar)

◦ *eur = though most words ending in eur are masculine, a handful are feminine:
la fleur (the flower) la peur (the fear)

◦ al = l’animal (animal), le cheval (horse), le journal (newspaper), le festival

(festival)

◦ eau = le bureau (office), le tableau (painting)

Exception : la peau (skin), l’eau (water)

◦ ail = le corail (coral), le travail (work)

◦ eu = le feu (fire), le jeu (game), le cheveu (hair)

◦ euil = le fauteuil (armchair), l’écureuil (squirrel)

◦ eil = le réveil (clock), le conseil (advice)

◦ in/ein/ain = le destin (destiny), le coin (corner), le terrain (field), le voisin*(

neighbour)

*Please note that as le voisin is a person, so it can be a feminine word too if an e

is added to it: la voisine (the lady neighbour). Same with le cousin - la cousine
(female cousin)

Exception: la main (hand), la fin (end)

◦ et = le secret (secret), l’objet (object), le budget (budget), le projet (project),

l’alphabet (alphabet)

Exception: la forêt (forest)

◦ on = le poisson (fish), l’avion (plane), le crayon (pencil), le canon (canon)

Exception: la maison (house), la saison (season)

◦ Fruits and vegetables which do no end in e such as: le citron (lemon), l’ananas
(pineapple), le melon (melon), le brocoli (broccoli), l’oignon (onion)

◦ iste = words ending in iste are more flexible. They represent a person and can
be both masculine and feminine:

◦ le dentiste ou la dentiste
◦ le garagiste ou la garagiste
◦ le touriste ou la touriste

So what happens with animal words in French ?

There are 2 ways in French in which we differentiate gender in animals:

Either by using the same word and adding an e to it :

◦ le chat = la chatte
◦ le chien = la chienne
◦ le lapin = la lapine

Or by using a completely different word:

le cheval (the horse) et la jument (the mare)

le mouton (a sheep) et la brebis (a ewe)

Last note:

Though times are changing, nouns of occupations such as un avocat (lawyer), un

docteur (doctor) etc. have always been of masculine gender. We do, however,
nowadays use the feminine gender of these nouns : une avocate, une doctoresse.