Gender & Number
In French every noun has a gender (masculine or feminine) and nouns and adjectives must agree in gender and number (singular or plural). This affects articles, adjectives, and sometimes the noun form itself.
Gender
Nouns are either masculine or feminine and this determines which article you use: le/un for masculine and la/une for feminine. Some noun endings are typical for one gender but there are exceptions so you have to learn each noun's gender.
Masculine Nouns
Masculine nouns usually take le or un and often end in endings like -age, -ment, or a consonant, though there are exceptions.
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🍞 Le pain est frais. | The bread is fresh. |
| ☕ Le café est chaud. | The coffee is hot. |
| 🧀 Le fromage est délicieux. | The cheese is delicious. |
| 🥖 Le croissant est doré. | The croissant is golden. |
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Feminine Nouns
Feminine nouns usually take la or une and often end in -tion, -sion, -ette, -ance, or -ure, but you should check each word.
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🍎 La pomme est rouge. | The apple is red. |
| 🍓 La fraise est sucrée. | The strawberry is sweet. |
| 🥬 La salade est verte. | The lettuce is green. |
| 🍰 La tarte est jolie. | The tart is pretty. |
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Number
Nouns are singular or plural and the plural normally adds -s. The article changes from le/la to les and adjectives add -s to agree with a plural noun.
Forming the Plural
To make most nouns plural you add -s but nouns ending in -eau, -au, or -ou may add -x and some nouns are irregular. The plural article is les.
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🍞 Les pains sont sur la table. | The breads are on the table. |
| 🍎 Les pommes sont mûres. | The apples are ripe. |
| 🥖 Les croissants sont nombreux. | The croissants are numerous. |
| 🍓 Les fraises sont colorées. | The strawberries are colorful. |
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Adjective Agreement
Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe so you add -e for feminine and -s for plural when required. Some adjectives have special forms.
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🍰 La tarte est sucrée. | The tart is sweet. |
| 🍰 Les tartes sont sucrées. | The tarts are sweet. |
| 🧃 Le jus est frais. | The juice is fresh. |
| 🧃 Les jus sont frais. | The juices are fresh. |
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Key Vocabulary
Familiarity with common nouns for people, places, things, and abstract ideas helps you practice gender and number in context. Learn each noun with its article to remember gender.
| French Word(s) | English Word(s) |
|---|---|
| le garçon | the boy |
| la fille | the girl |
| un chien | a dog |
| une maison | a house |
| les chats | the cats |
| des voitures | some cars |
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🥖 un pain | a loaf of bread |
| 🍎 une pomme | an apple |
| 🧀 du fromage | some cheese |
| 🍓 des fraises | some strawberries |
| ☕ une tasse de café | a cup of coffee |
| 🍰 une part de tarte | a slice of tart |
| 🥬 une salade | a salad |
| 🧃 un verre de jus | a glass of juice |
| 🥐 un croissant | a croissant |
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Summary
Every French noun is masculine or feminine and singular or plural; articles and adjectives must agree in gender and number. Learn nouns together with their articles and pay attention to endings and exceptions.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025