le ou laEvery French noun's gender, explained.
French gives every noun a gender: le for masculine, la for feminine.
It might look random, but it usually isn't: the ending of a word tends to give its gender away. We measured 36 ending rules against 9,642 real French nouns, and put every rule, and every word, on this page.
Test yourself: le or la?
Guess the gender of these everyday nouns. Miss one and we'll show you the rule, with a link to learn it.
The 36 rules of French noun gender
Each rule shows how reliably the ending predicts the gender, measured on our 9,642-noun dataset.
Masculine endings · le
- -isme100%
Nouns ending in -isme are masculine.
le traumatisme · le terrorisme · le socialisme(59 nouns)
- -oir100%
Nouns ending in -oir are masculine.
le devoir · le miroir · le pouvoir(30 nouns)
- -ail / -eil / -euil / -ueil100%
Nouns ending in -ail, -eil, -euil, or -ueil are masculine.
le travail · le soleil · le fauteuil(40 nouns)
- -as100%
Nouns ending in -as are masculine.
- -at100%
Nouns ending in -at are masculine.
le chat · le chocolat · le plat(69 nouns)
- -ège100%
Nouns ending in -ège are masculine.
le piège · le siège · le collège(10 nouns)
- -it / -ut100%
Nouns ending in -it or -ut are masculine.
- -ment99.6%
Nouns ending in -ment are masculine.
l' appartement · le gouvernement · le changement(252 nouns)
- -et99.2%
Nouns ending in -et are masculine.
- -age98.8%
Nouns ending in -age are usually masculine.
le fromage · le voyage · le garage(173 nouns)
- -ot98.6%
Nouns ending in -ot are usually masculine.
- -in97.4%
Nouns ending in -in are usually masculine.
le jardin · le magasin · le matin(116 nouns)
- -al / -el / -il / -ol / -eul96.5%
Nouns ending in -al, -el, -il, -ol, or -eul are usually masculine.
- -teur95.8%
Nouns ending in -teur are usually masculine.
l' ordinateur · l' acteur · le docteur(165 nouns)
- -ier95.4%
Nouns ending in -ier are usually masculine.
le quartier · le papier · le dossier(151 nouns)
- -er94.6%
Nouns ending in -er are usually masculine.
- -is94.1%
Nouns ending in -is are usually masculine.
l' anglais · le tapis · le mois(102 nouns)
- -eau93.1%
Nouns ending in -eau are usually masculine.
le bureau · le tableau · le cadeau(86 nouns)
- -on91.9%
Nouns ending in -on are usually masculine.
le pantalon · l' avion · le salon(246 nouns)
- -ou / -out / -oux91.5%
Nouns ending in -ou, -out, or -oux are usually masculine.
Feminine endings · la
- -sion100%
Nouns ending in -sion are feminine.
la télévision · la mission · la passion(100 nouns)
- -esse100%
Nouns ending in -esse are feminine.
l' adresse · la princesse · la presse(53 nouns)
- -ance100%
Nouns ending in -ance are feminine.
la chance · la confiance · la vacance(99 nouns)
- -aison100%
Nouns ending in -aison are feminine.
- -tion99.8%
Nouns ending in -tion are feminine.
la question · la situation · la solution(548 nouns)
- -ette99.3%
Nouns ending in -ette are usually feminine.
la toilette · la lunette · l' assiette(139 nouns)
- -ence97.6%
Nouns ending in -ence are usually feminine.
la différence · la patience · la science(84 nouns)
- -aille95.8%
Nouns ending in -aille are usually feminine.
la taille · la bataille · la médaille(24 nouns)
- -ie95.7%
Nouns ending in -ie are usually feminine.
- -elle95.1%
Nouns ending in -elle are usually feminine.
la poubelle · la mademoiselle · la belle(69 nouns)
- -aie / -oue / -eue94.4%
Nouns ending in -aie, -oue, or -eue are feminine.
la queue · la monnaie · la joue(18 nouns)
- -ure94.3%
Nouns ending in -ure are usually feminine.
la voiture · la chaussure · l' heure(124 nouns)
- -ade92.3%
Nouns ending in -ade are usually feminine.
la salade · la malade · la promenade(53 nouns)
- -ude92%
Nouns ending in -ude are usually feminine.
l' habitude · l' étude · l' attitude(26 nouns)
- -ée91.7%
Nouns ending in -ée are usually feminine.
l' idée · la journée · l' année(125 nouns)
- -té91.3%
Nouns ending in -té are usually feminine.
l' université · la qualité · l' activité(288 nouns)