VaneBeginner French · A1
Le or la? French noun gender with examples
Every noun is masculine or feminine. Learn which, and the little words that go with it.
I can use le, la, un and une with nouns.
Every French noun is masculine or feminine. Le and un go with masculine nouns, la and une with feminine ones.
The little words
| Meaning | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| the | le père | la mère |
| the (before a vowel) | l'ami | l'amie |
| a, an | un frère | une sœur |
Clues in the ending
Words ending in -e are often feminine: la table, la salade. But not always: le fromage, le livre.
Words ending in -tion are feminine: la station, l'addition. Words ending in -ment are masculine: l'appartement.
People follow their gender: le père, la mère, un ami, une amie.
Learn them together
Do
- Learn le or la with every noun: la chaise, le lit.
- Use un or une to find the gender of an l' word: un hôtel, so l'hôtel is masculine.
Don't
- Guess from English: there's no logic to la table and le canapé.
- Drop the little word: say le café, not just café.
Watch out
Most words ending in -age are masculine (le fromage, le voyage), but la plage and la page are feminine.
Words ending in -tion are feminine: la station, la natation.
Learn every noun with le or la, and say them out loud together: la voiture, le problème.
Examples with English meanings
- le père et la mère
- the father and the mother
- un café et une salade
- a coffee and a salad
- l'ami de Sam
- Sam's friend
- une petite maison
- a small house
Common mistakes
Try this: le fromage
Instead of:
la fromageFromage is masculine even though it ends in -e.
Try this: l'eau
Instead of:
le eauLe and la become l' before a vowel.