French noun gender endings: masculine and feminine patterns

French noun gender is not fully predictable, but endings give useful hints. Many -tion, -sion, -té, -ette, -ie and -ure nouns are feminine. Many -age, -ment, -eau, -isme and -oir nouns are masculine. Treat these as patterns, not guarantees: the reliable habit is still to learn every noun with its article, like le livre or la table.

Often masculine Example Often feminine Example
-age le fromagecheese -tion la nationnation
-ment le momentmoment -sion la décisiondecision
-eau le bureaudesk -té la libertéfreedom
-isme le tourismetourism -ette la baguettebaguette
-oir le miroirmirror -ure la voiturecar

Endings that often point to masculine

These endings are strong masculine hints:

Ending Common nouns
-age le fromage, le garage, le voyage
-ment le moment, le logement, le document
-eau le bureau, le gâteau, le manteau
-isme le tourisme, le réalisme
-oir le miroir, le couloir

There are exceptions. For example, la plage and la page are feminine even though they end in -age.

Endings that often point to feminine

These endings are strong feminine hints:

Ending Common nouns
-tion / -sion la nation, la décision, la télévision
-té la liberté, la santé
-ette la baguette, la recette
-ie la vie, la boulangerie
-ure la voiture, la culture
-ance / -ence la chance, la différence

Again, these are patterns. They help you guess, but they do not replace checking the noun.

Why endings are only hints

French gender is grammatical. It is not based on logic for objects, and the same ending can have exceptions.

le téléphone, la voiture
the phone, the car

Nothing about a phone is naturally masculine or a car naturally feminine. The gender belongs to the noun as part of the language.

The best study habit

Never learn a noun by itself. Store it with an article and, when possible, a short phrase:

Weak memory Better memory
livre le livre
table la table
bureau le bureau
liberté la liberté

That habit makes adjective agreement and article choice much easier later.

Common mistakes

Treating endings as rules with no exceptions

Endings are helpful, not absolute.

-age is often masculine, but la plage is feminine.
-té is often feminine, but not every common noun will fit a simple list.

Forgetting that l’ hides gender

Before a vowel, both le and la become l', but the noun still has a gender.

l’ami -> un ami; l’amie -> une amie
the friend -> a male friend; the female friend -> a female friend

Learning nouns without articles

If you learn only the bare noun, you have to guess later.

table = table -> la table
the table

This article expands the pattern work from le vs la and un vs une. Fluera shows the article with each noun from the start, so endings become useful support instead of your only strategy. Try it when you practice French.

Practice

Question 1 of 10

-tion words are usually:

Frequently asked questions

Can you know French noun gender from the ending?
Sometimes you can make a good guess. Endings like -tion, -sion, -té and -ette are often feminine; -age, -ment, -eau and -isme are often masculine. But there are exceptions, so learn the article with the noun.
What endings are usually feminine in French?
Common feminine hints include -tion, -sion, -té, -ette, -ie, -ure, -ance and -ence: la nation, la liberté, la voiture.
What endings are usually masculine in French?
Common masculine hints include -age, -ment, -eau, -isme and -oir: le fromage, le moment, le bureau, le tourisme.
Why should I learn nouns with le or la?
Because endings are only hints. If you learn le livre and la table as complete chunks, the gender is stored with the word and later agreement becomes easier.