Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, even objects. There is no perfect rule, but patterns and good habits make it manageable.
Articles at a glance
| Masculine | Feminine | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| the | le (l’ before a vowel) | la (l’ before a vowel) | les |
| a / an | un | une | des (some) |
Endings that help
| Usually masculine | Usually feminine |
|---|---|
| -age: le voyage | -tion: la nation |
| -ment: le moment | -té: la liberté |
| -eau: le bateau | -ure: la voiture |
| -isme: le tourisme | -ette: la fourchette |
There are exceptions, such as le musée and le lycée (masculine despite ending in -ée), so treat endings as a guide, not a law.
Same word, different gender
- le livre (book) / la livre (pound)
- le tour (tour, turn) / la tour (tower)
- le poste (job, set) / la poste (post office)
Plurals
Add -s (un livre → des livres). Nouns in -eau take -x (un bateau → des bateaux) and many in -al become -aux (un cheval → des chevaux). The -s is usually silent, so the article tells you if a noun is plural: le livre vs les livres.
Best habit: always learn a noun with its article. Write “la table”, never just “table”.