French Nouns Starting With M

202 of the most common French nouns start with M: 107 masculine, 71 feminine, and 24 that take either gender. 4 break the usual rule for their ending, so those are the ones to memorize.

Noun	Gender	Meaning	Ending rule
le mac	masculine		No rule
le machin	masculine		Follows `-in`
la machine	feminine		No rule
la mâchoire	feminine		No rule
la madame	feminine	madam, ma'am, Mrs.	No rule
la mademoiselle	feminine		Follows `-elle`
la mafia	feminine		No rule
le magasin	masculine		Follows `-in`
le magazine	masculine		No rule
le magicien	masculine		No rule
la magie	feminine		Follows `-ie`
le mai	masculine		No rule
le mail	masculine		Follows `-ail`
le maillot	masculine		No rule
la main	feminine	hand	Exception `-in` is usually masculine
le maire / la maire	both		No rule
la mairie	feminine		Follows `-ie`
la maison	feminine	house	Follows `-aison`
le maître / la maître	both	master; primary-school teacher; form of address for a lawyer	No rule
la maîtresse	feminine		Follows `-esse`
la majesté	feminine		Follows `-té`
le major	masculine		No rule
la majorité	feminine		Follows `-té`
le mal	masculine	evil; pain, ache; harm	Follows `-al`
le malade / la malade	both		No rule
la maladie	feminine		Follows `-ie`
la malchance	feminine		Follows `-ance`
le mâle	masculine		No rule
la malédiction	feminine		Follows `-tion`
le malentendu	masculine		No rule
le malheur	masculine		No rule
le malin	masculine		Follows `-in`
la malle	feminine		No rule
la mallette	feminine		Follows `-ette`
la maman	feminine	mom	No rule
la mamie	feminine		Follows `-ie`
le manager / la manager	both		No rule
le manche / la manche	both		No rule
le mandat	masculine		No rule
la manière	feminine	way, manner	No rule
la manifestation	feminine		Follows `-tion`
le mannequin / la mannequin	both		No rule
le manoeuvre / la manoeuvre	both		No rule
le manoir	masculine		Follows `-oir`
le manque / la manque	both		No rule
le manteau	masculine		Follows `-eau`
le manuel	masculine		No rule
le manuscrit	masculine		No rule
le maquillage	masculine		Follows `-age`
le marchand	masculine		No rule
la marchandise	feminine		No rule
la marche	feminine		No rule
le marché	masculine	market; deal	No rule
le mardi	masculine		No rule
la marée	feminine		Follows `-ée`
la marge	feminine		No rule
le mariage	masculine	marriage; wedding	Follows `-age`
le marié	masculine		No rule
la marijuana	feminine		No rule
le marin / la marin	both		No rule
le marine / la marine	both		No rule
la marionnette	feminine		Follows `-ette`
la marque	feminine		No rule
le marteau	masculine		Follows `-eau`
le masque	masculine		No rule
le massacre	masculine		No rule
le massage	masculine		Follows `-age`
la masse	feminine		No rule
le match	masculine		No rule
le matériel	masculine		No rule
la matière	feminine		No rule
le matin	masculine	morning	Follows `-in`
la matinée	feminine		Follows `-ée`
la mauviette	feminine		Follows `-ette`
le max	masculine		No rule
le maximum	masculine		No rule
le mec	masculine	guy (informal)	No rule
le mécanisme	masculine		Follows `-isme`
le méchant	masculine		No rule
la mèche	feminine		No rule
la médaille	feminine		Follows `-aille`
le médecin / la médecin	both	doctor, physician	No rule
la médecine	feminine		No rule
le médicament	masculine		Follows `-ment`
le médium / la médium	both		No rule
le médoc	masculine		No rule
le mélange	masculine		No rule
le membre / la membre	both	member; limb	No rule
le mémoire / la mémoire	both		No rule
la menace	feminine		No rule
le ménage	masculine		Follows `-age`
la menotte	feminine		No rule
le mensonge	masculine		No rule
le menteur	masculine		Follows `-teur`
la menthe	feminine		No rule
le menton	masculine		No rule
le mentor	masculine		No rule
le menu	masculine		No rule
la mer	feminine	sea	No rule
le merci / la merci	both	thank you (m.); mercy (f.)	No rule
le mercredi	masculine		No rule
la merde	feminine	shit (vulgar)	No rule
le merdier	masculine		Follows `-ier`
la mère	feminine	mother	No rule
la merveille	feminine		Follows `-eille`
le message	masculine	message	Follows `-age`
le messager	masculine		No rule
la messe	feminine		Follows `-esse`
la mesure	feminine		Follows `-ure`
le métal	masculine		Follows `-al`
la métaphore	feminine		No rule
la météo	feminine		Exception `-o` is usually masculine
la méthode	feminine		No rule
le métier	masculine		Follows `-ier`
le mètre	masculine		No rule
le métro	masculine		Follows `-o`
le meuble	masculine		No rule
le meurtre	masculine	murder	No rule
le meurtrier	masculine		Follows `-ier`
la meute	feminine		No rule
le micro / la micro	both		No rule
le midi	masculine		No rule
le miel	masculine		No rule
la miette	feminine		Follows `-ette`
la migraine	feminine		No rule
le mile	masculine		No rule
le milieu	masculine	middle; environment; (le milieu) the criminal underworld	Follows `-eu`
le militaire / la militaire	both		No rule
le milliard	masculine		No rule
le millier	masculine		Follows `-ier`
le million	masculine	million	No rule
le minable / la minable	both		No rule
la mine	feminine		No rule
le mineur	masculine		No rule
le minimum	masculine		No rule
le ministère	masculine		No rule
le ministre / la ministre	both		No rule
le minou	masculine		Follows `-ou`
le minuit	masculine		No rule
la minute	feminine	minute	No rule
le miracle	masculine		No rule
le miroir	masculine		Follows `-oir`
la mise	feminine		No rule
la misère	feminine		No rule
le missile	masculine		No rule
la mission	feminine	mission	Follows `-sion`
le mobile	masculine		No rule
le mode / la mode	both		No rule
le modèle / la modèle	both		No rule
le module	masculine		No rule
la moelle	feminine		Follows `-elle`
le moi	masculine		No rule
le moine	masculine		No rule
la moitié	feminine	half	Follows `-tié`
le môme / la môme	both		No rule
le moment	masculine	moment	Follows `-ment`
le monde	masculine	world	No rule
le moniteur	masculine		Follows `-teur`
la monnaie	feminine		Follows `-ie`
le monseigneur	masculine		No rule
le monsieur	masculine	sir; gentleman; Mr.	No rule
le monstre	masculine		No rule
le mont	masculine		No rule
le montage	masculine		Follows `-age`
la montagne	feminine		No rule
le montant	masculine		No rule
la montre	feminine		No rule
le moral	masculine		Follows `-al`
la morale	feminine		No rule
le morceau	masculine		Follows `-eau`
la morgue	feminine		No rule
la morphine	feminine		No rule
la morsure	feminine		Follows `-ure`
le mort / la mort	both	death (f.); dead person (m.)	No rule
le mortel	masculine		No rule
le mot	masculine	word	No rule
le motel	masculine		No rule
le moteur	masculine		Follows `-teur`
le motif	masculine		No rule
la motivation	feminine		Follows `-tion`
la moto	feminine		Exception `-o` is usually masculine
le mouchard	masculine		No rule
la mouche	feminine		No rule
le mouchoir	masculine		Follows `-oir`
le moulin	masculine		Follows `-in`
le mousse / la mousse	both		No rule
la moustache	feminine		No rule
le mouton	masculine		No rule
le mouvement	masculine		Follows `-ment`
le moyen	masculine	means, way	No rule
la moyenne	feminine		No rule
le muffin	masculine		Follows `-in`
le mulet	masculine		No rule
la munition	feminine		Follows `-tion`
le mur	masculine	wall	No rule
le muscle	masculine		No rule
le musée	masculine		Exception `-ée` is usually feminine
le musicien	masculine		No rule
la musique	feminine	music	No rule
le musulman	masculine		No rule
le mystère	masculine		No rule
le mythe	masculine		No rule

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The ending rules come from the gender rules by ending. Looking for a noun that is not listed? Look it up on the home page, or go back to the full A-to-Z index.