French Noun Gender Rules by Ending

Every French noun is masculine or feminine, and for most words the last few letters are the best clue you have. Studies of French vocabulary put the share of nouns you can predict from the ending at around 80 percent.

The tables below group the endings by how much you can trust them. Treat them as a guide, not a set of laws: almost every pattern has exceptions, and a handful of the most common French words are among them. When one specific word matters, look it up on the home page.

The most reliable endings

These patterns hold for nearly every noun. If a word ends this way, you can usually trust the gender without checking.

Ending	Gender	Examples	Notes
`-tion, -sion, -xion`	feminine	la nation, la décision, la connexion	No everyday exceptions.
`-ment`	masculine	le gouvernement, le moment	One common exception: la jument (mare).
`-isme`	masculine	le tourisme, le socialisme	No everyday exceptions.
`-té, -tié`	feminine	la liberté, la moitié	Exceptions: le côté, l'été, le comité, le député, le pâté, le traité.
`-ée`	feminine	la journée, l'idée, la purée	Exceptions: le lycée, le musée, le trophée.
`-ance, -ence`	feminine	la distance, la patience	One common exception: le silence.
`-ude`	feminine	la certitude, l'habitude

Endings that are usually masculine

Reliable enough to guess from, but each has a short list of exceptions worth learning separately.

Ending	Examples	Watch for
`-age`	le voyage, le fromage, le message	But: la cage, la page, la plage, la nage, la rage, une image.
`-eau`	le bureau, le manteau, le cadeau	But: l'eau, la peau.
`-eu`	le jeu, le feu, le cheveu
`-ail, -eil, -euil`	le travail, le soleil, le fauteuil	The doubled form -eille is feminine (la bouteille).
`-ou`	le bijou, le trou, le genou
`-oir`	le couloir, le devoir, le miroir	The -oire spelling is a separate, mostly feminine pattern.
`-ier`	le quartier, le clavier, le papier
`-in`	le vin, le magasin, le chemin	But: la fin, la main.
`-ing`	le parking, le shopping, le pudding	Borrowed from English, treated as masculine.
`-o`	le numéro, le stylo, le vélo	But: la photo, la météo, la radio (all shortened from feminine words).
`-teur (machine or agent)`	le moteur, l'ordinateur, le facteur
`-ège, -asme`	le collège, le manège, l'enthousiasme

Endings that are usually feminine

The mirror image: a strong signal, with a small set of exceptions to memorize on the side.

Ending	Examples	Watch for
`-ette`	la fourchette, la baguette, la recette	One common exception: le squelette.
`-elle, -esse`	la poubelle, la vitesse, la richesse
`-aille, -eille`	la bataille, la médaille, la bouteille
`-ie`	la vie, la magie, la boulangerie	But: le génie, l'incendie, le parapluie.
`-ure`	la voiture, la nature, la coiffure	One common exception: le mercure.
`-ade`	la salade, la promenade, la limonade	But: le grade, le stade.
`-aison, -oison`	la maison, la raison, la saison
`-ille`	la famille, la bille, la chenille	But: le gorille, le mille.
`-eur (quality or feeling)`	la peur, la couleur, la douleur, la chaleur	But: le bonheur, le malheur, l'honneur, le cœur.
`-oire`	l'histoire, la mémoire, la victoire	But: le laboratoire, le territoire, le pourboire, l'ivoire.

Endings that pull both ways

-eur: Feminine when it names a quality or a feeling: la longueur, la douceur, la peur. Masculine when it names a person or a machine that does something: le chanteur, le vendeur, le moteur, le radiateur.
-oir versus -oire: Words spelled -oir are almost always masculine (le miroir, le savoir). Words spelled -oire lean feminine (la baignoire, la nageoire) but keep a firm group of masculine exceptions (le laboratoire, le territoire, le conservatoire).
A final -e on its own: It tells you nothing about a noun. It is a dependable feminine marker for adjectives, not for nouns. Many everyday masculine nouns end in -e: le livre, le groupe, le problème, le système, le doute, le verre, le musée.
Words that carry both genders: A few nouns are masculine or feminine depending on meaning: le / la livre (book or pound), le / la tour (turn or tower), le / la mode (method or fashion), le / la manche (handle or sleeve).

How to make this stick

Learn every new noun with its article attached, never on its own. Store une table, not table.
When you meet a word, match its ending against these tables first. Only memorize the gender separately if the word is an exception.
Give the high-frequency exceptions extra attention. l'eau, la fin, le silence, and le musée come up constantly.
Trust the near-certain endings outright: -tion, -ment, -té, -isme.

Common questions

What is the most reliable way to guess a French noun's gender?

Look at the ending. Nouns ending in -tion, -sion, -té, and -ie are almost always feminine. Nouns ending in -ment, -age, -eau, and -isme are almost always masculine. Those few patterns alone cover a large share of everyday French vocabulary.

Does a final -e make a French noun feminine?

No. A final -e is a dependable feminine signal for adjectives, but not for nouns. Plenty of common masculine nouns end in -e, including le livre, le groupe, le problème, le verre, and le musée.

Which French gender exceptions are worth memorizing first?

The ones you use every day: l'eau and la peau, which are feminine unlike other -eau words; la fin and la main, which are feminine unlike other -in words; le silence, which is masculine unlike other -ence words; and le musée and le lycée, which are masculine unlike other -ée words.

Not sure about a specific word? Look it up on the home page.