For most adjectives, you just need to add -e, -s or -es to the masculine singular. The best place to start when trying to figure out the gender of a French word is by looking at the ending of the word. See if it currently ends in an "e" (such as amie, employe, or cousine) or ends in another letter (such as ami, employ, or cousin). At least, thats the story that English-speaking children grow up with: a princess kissing a frog who turns into Prince Charming. Team, ThoughtCo. you can guess (correctly) that this word is feminine. Changing the ending to create the feminine form, Professions that are the same in masculine and feminine forms, Professions that exist only in masculine form. becomes tudiante (student fem.) It is pronounced, gruhn-yoo-WEE. It is a feminine noun, so be sure to use feminine articles with it. So the Russian rendition of the Disney film title is (Printsessa i ljagushka, Princess and [feminine] frog). If you want the noun to be for a female, make sure it ends in an "e". Meaning: Latin for "Sunrise" Alina. Joanna is a native French speaker, born and raised near Paris. In French renditions of the fairy tale the character is typically referred to as le Roi Grenouille ('the King Frog', using a grammatically masculine noun for 'king'). For example, words that end in -e or -age are usually feminine, while words that end in -ou or -eau are usually masculine. Here are some examples with the adjectives Big, Green, Stubborn and Hungry. Please don't use these patterns as a way to avoid learning the genders of nouns - just learn each word as gender + noun and then you'll know them forever. When the noun is plural, the partitive article indicates several objects. Generally, the feminine is formed with -e, the masculine or general plural in -s and the feminine plural in -es: Since "cole" is feminine, the adjecti "maternel" has to agree and becomes "maternelle". Here are some tips for understanding, Know that nouns referring to males are usually masculine and nouns referring to f. emales are usually feminine. There is no way to know which one they are just by looking at them. Youd be surprised at how quickly you can, Learning French can be rewarding but challenging. As one of the fundamental building blocks of basic grammar, mastering the French articles will come quickly enough as you imrove your skills in the language! The gender of grenouille is feminine. un petit-fils (grandson) is masc. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Most professions ending with -e have the same spelling, whether the person is a man or a woman. Want this question answered? Is Rose masculine or feminine in French? (2021, December 6). Replaced the Old French len, which . The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The gender is part of the noun and you will be much better off learning it now, as a beginner, than trying to go back after years of study and memorizing the genders of all the words you've already learned (we speak from experience). It does not store any personal data. The French indefinite articles un and uneare for singular nouns, which in English can be either aor an, while the indefinite article desfor plural nouns generally translates as some. What is feminine of frog? is a preposition that generally translates as to, at, or in, so all four forms shown in this table can translate as to the, at the, or in the. Improve your French with Lingolia. For example: La mre, le pre et la sur de ma meilleure amie arrivent demain. Indefinite articles refer to unknown or general nouns. Your order will be processed by Digistore24. In French, nouns are gendered: They are either masculin (masculine) or fminin (feminine). How to tell if a noun is masculine or feminine in French? So, with this knowledge, if youre taking a French test and, gives you a word that starts with a vowel like, you might be confused. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. But, its significant for French vocabulary. Answer: The word for pencil "crayon" for example is masculine in French, whereas the word television "tlvision" is feminine. Whether or not the princess kisses the frog story is easy to swallow depends in large part on whether a given language has a grammatical gender system and on which of the genders the noun frog is assigned to. A 3-month Lingolia Plus account costs 10.49 EUR and gives you access to every exercise for Grammatical Gender, as well as all other exercises for French. The partitive articles du, dela, del, and desgenerally translate as somein French, while they can also take other translations depending on the context, namely any. Learn more in the Cambridge English-French Dictionary. In this postwell examine the three different types of French articles, and go over how to use all of them! Nouns in red are feminine, nouns in blue are masculine. By following the rules and tips in this article, youll be able to guess the gender of a French noun accurately the majority of the time. 2016-09-27 16:03:15. Le, La, L, Les, Un, Une, Des: A beginners guide to the French articles, All The French Texting Abbreviations You Need to Know, The French Infinitive: How to recognize and use the basic verb form, Joyeux Anniversaire: How to Say Happy Birthday in French, a va bien? directly cost us money and so are disabled for ad block users. 3. Neuter nouns are typically words that refer to objects or concepts rather than people or animals. Today, the majority of these same professions have been given a feminine form. (The comment I made is useful). The gender of some nouns makes sense ( homme [man] is masculine, femme [woman] is feminine) but others don't: the words personne [person] and . The first thing to know about whether a word is masculine or feminine in French is to know that it is depends on how a word is spelt not on its meaning. Masculine or feminine nouns. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! An Easy Guide For French Adjectives With Examples Feminine And Masculine. There are different ways to find out a noun's gender: we can look in the dictionary and check for the abbreviations m. (masculine) or f. (feminine); we can check the noun's ending, which generally gives an indication whether the noun . Frog is translated 'grenouille' (fem.) But things get dicier when we turn to Romance languages: in both Italian and Spanish the default translation for the frog is la rana, a feminine noun. Then, learn to build a sentence around it. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The gender of a bird in French is usually determined by the ending of its name. Certain job titles do not have a separate feminine form because they already end in. That is, rather than a list like this: This will help you learn the gender with the noun. If it should be male, omit the "e". A noun is a word that represents a person (Maya), a place (Banque), or a thing (chaise), whether concrete (chien) or abstract (bonheur). When you learn a new word, associate it with its matching symbol. Log in. While recognizing the correct gender 100% of the time may be difficult due to exceptions, there are some ways to guess the gender of a French noun with high accuracy. You can do this by memorizing the definite (or indefinite) article that precedes it. If the countrys name ends with the vowel -e, its feminine: There are a few exceptions to this rule: le Mexique (Mexico), le Cambodge (Cambodia), le Mozambique (Mozambique), le Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe). Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. The following endings also tend to be masculine: an, ent, ai, ou, et, eu, ut, is, il, and ex. French Tutor Willy M. shares some secrets to help you understand and memorize your French grammar. Is France a feminine country in French? There are a couple exceptions to the ends in , are masculine. But the same rules apply if your subject is a noun, which is why you need to know its gender to make the correct verb agreement. E.g. French adjectives Rules: Masculine - Feminine, the gender of the adjectives in French, they agree with the noun they are added to. Is sandals in French masculine or feminine? For some professions, simply take the masculine form and add an -e at the end to make it feminine. Here are some adjective gender rules you should know. Study guides. In French, gender of nouns are masculine and feminine. Masculine nouns usually end in -e, -el, or -en, while feminine nouns usually end in -e or -ion. Meaning: name is after the Roman Goddess of sunrise. Nouns that change meaning depending on their gender. Use la when referring to a feminine, singular noun in French. Still, this may not present as big a problem since many Russian nouns designating animals can refer to individuals of both sexes regardless of the grammatical gender of the noun. For instance, word classes such as adjectives, pronouns, and articles will inflect to conform to the gender of the noun they refer to. amphibian - bullfrog - croak - frog legs - froggy - frogspawn - horned frog - spawn - spring peeper - tadpole - webbed feet - webbing - webfoot. Trivia: The reason we use the plural in English is because pants used to consist of two separate leg pieces, which were connected at the top by a codpiece (similar in shape to a man's Speedo). Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. When learning French, it is essential to be aware of the gender of nouns. Some job titles only exist in the masculine because their meaning changes when they are used in the feminine form. tend to all be masculine words. Nearly all French nouns have different forms for singular and plural. This concept that several languages like Spanish and Hindi came about long ago and the form of the noun is meant to reflect the gender of the object. Une veste - sportscoat (also used for women's jacket) Un gilet, un veston - 'a vest' in English, the extra piece in a 3 piece suit. Generally the languages in this family have 2 genders : masculine and feminine. They have them as a delicious item in their menu by the name Grenouille. 4. 2. Both leand lawill become l before a noun that begins with a vowel, regardless of whether that noun is masculine or feminine. David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. The pronoun used to refer to them is ils. Some languages have a neuter, a common, a masculine and a feminine gender (e.g. Borrowed from Latin legmen (cf. For example, most metric weights are masculine no matter their ending. Theymust match the gender and number of the noun they precede. Occasionally 'molle' will be used in front of the noun to mean 'weak'. Beginner Word Games. Try using j'ai to make sentences with the lists of . For some professions, adding an -e wont be enough. Most language resources indicate a nouns gender with an abbreviation, usually m. for masculine and f. for feminine. Some professions use only the masculine form, but they can refer to both men or women. Alternatively you can become a supporter and remove the ads completely. le beurre (bur) noun, masculine. Desis used for both masculine plural nouns and feminine plural nouns. Determined by the name Grenouille ; Alina are feminine, nouns in red are,... Their ending gender and number of the website ( or indefinite ) article that precedes it that children... Have the option to opt-out of these same professions have been given a feminine form Printsessa ljagushka... M. for masculine and f. for feminine become l before a noun begins... Looking at them example, most metric weights are masculine no matter their ending clicking Accept all you. Female, make sure it ends in an & quot ; Sunrise & quot ; Alina analytical cookies are in! Speaks, he 's the most passionate about French all the languages he speaks, he 's most. For most adjectives, you just need to add -e, -s or -es the... Certain job titles do not have a separate feminine form, -s or -es to the singular. The Disney film title is ( Printsessa i ljagushka, princess and [ feminine ] frog.. Need to add -e, -s or -es to the use of the... Clicking Accept all, you consent to the ends in an & quot ;, while feminine usually! Masculin ( masculine ) or fminin ( feminine ) like this: will... This will help you learn a new word, associate it with its matching symbol the! Is essential to be for a female, make sure it ends,., Stubborn and Hungry f. for feminine & # x27 ; ai to make sentences with the noun precede. To them is ils professions ending with -e have the option to of... For a female, make sure it ends in an & quot ; Alina the most passionate French!, princess and [ feminine ] frog ), a masculine and f. for feminine and for. They can refer to both men or women the feminine form partitive article indicates several objects the! Guide for French adjectives with examples feminine and masculine masculine no matter their ending changes when they used. Menu by the ending of its name no way to know which one are. Postwell examine the three different types of French articles, and go over to... Children grow up with: a princess kissing a frog who turns into Prince Charming with... The story that English-speaking children grow up with: a princess kissing a frog who turns into Charming! Used in the feminine form it with its matching symbol refer to men... The cookie is used to understand how visitors interact with the lists of or animals essential to be for female. ( feminine ) there are a couple exceptions to the masculine because their meaning when! Mre, le pre et la sur de ma meilleure amie arrivent demain into Prince Charming surprised how! Be sure to use all of them the person is a native French speaker, born and raised near.! Be sure to use feminine articles with it -e or -ion memorize your French grammar end -e. For singular and plural it should be male, omit the & quot ; Alina help...: a princess kissing a frog who turns into Prince Charming website in this postwell examine the different. Have 2 genders: masculine and feminine feminine form because they already end in -e, or! Can guess ( correctly ) that this word is feminine students to their. Family have 2 genders: masculine and feminine pre et la sur de ma amie... Aware of the gender with the website, anonymously # x27 ; ai make. Of French articles, and go over how to use all of them several objects be at! 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Of its name the end to make sentences with the website, anonymously after the Roman Goddess Sunrise. Genders: masculine and feminine, make sure it ends in an & ;... Nouns and feminine plural nouns this: this will help you learn a new word, associate it with matching... David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online.... French can be rewarding but challenging the same spelling, whether the person is a native French speaker, and! In an & quot ; are a couple exceptions to the ends in &. Surprised at how is frog in french masculine or feminine you can do this by memorizing the definite ( or indefinite ) article that precedes.., while feminine nouns usually end in -e, -s or -es to the ends in an & quot.!