French Noun Genders: Masculine (-age, -isme) vs. Feminine (-tion, -té, -ure)

A1/A2
grammar
noun genders
exercises
Author

Kunal Khurana

Published

May 13, 2025

Explanation:

In French, noun genders often follow patterns based on their endings. Don’t assume a noun is always feminine just because it ends in -e!

1. Masculine Nouns Ending in -e (Common Endings):

  • -age: le voyage (trip), le fromage (cheese)
  • -isme: le tourisme (tourism), le capitalisme (capitalism)
  • -ège: le collège (middle school)
  • -é: le café (coffee), le lycée (high school)

Exceptions: la page (page), la plage (beach)

2. Feminine Noun Endings:

  • -tion/-sion: la nation (nation), la télévision (TV)
  • -té: la liberté (freedom), la santé (health)
  • -ure: la culture (culture), la voiture (car)
  • -ée: la journée (day), la dictée (dictation)

Exercises

1. Masculine or Feminine?

Write “le” or “la” for each noun (type the correct article and noun in French):

  1. “crab” →
  2. “television” →
  3. “cheese” →
  4. “solution” →
  5. “tourism” →
  6. “freedom” →
  7. “car” →
  8. “message” →
  9. “dictation” →
  10. “capitalism” →
  11. “health” →
  12. “trip” →
  13. “culture” →
  14. “day” →
  15. “school” (middle school) →
  16. “nation” →
  17. “coffee” →
  18. “beauty” →
  19. “problem” →
  20. “beach” →

2. Correct the Mistakes

Correct the gender in these sentences (type the correct sentence in French):

  1. “La fromage est délicieux.” →
  2. “Le liberté est importante.” →
  3. “Le culture est riche.” →
  4. “La message est clair.” →
  5. “Le télévision est grande.” →
  6. “La voyage est long.” →
  7. “Le solution est simple.” →
  8. “La capitalisme est puissant.” →
  9. “Le beauté est éternelle.” →
  10. “La problème est difficile.” →

3. Translate and Identify Gender

Translate and say if the noun is masculine (M) or feminine (F):

  1. “The culture is rich.”

    (F/M?)
  2. “The message is clear.”

    (F/M?)
  3. “The cheese is delicious.”

    (F/M?)
  4. “The solution is simple.”

    (F/M?)
  5. “The television is big.”

    (F/M?)
  6. “The trip is long.”

    (F/M?)
  7. “The freedom is important.”

    (F/M?)
  8. “The car is new.”

    (F/M?)
  9. “The problem is difficult.”

    (F/M?)
  10. “The beauty is eternal.”

    (F/M?)

4. Writing Challenge

List 5 masculine nouns ending in -e and 5 feminine nouns ending in -tion or -té.