Is « échelle » masculine or feminine?

« échelle » is feminine. You say l'échelle.

Article forms

With the definite article l'échelle
With the indefinite article une échelle
With the partitive article de l'échelle

Plural

The plural is échelles (les échelles). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.

Why the gender

échelle ends in -elle. Nouns ending in -elle are usually feminine, so échelle follows the pattern. The full rules by ending cover every common suffix.

Related words

Other common nouns that end the same way:

Common questions

Is « échelle » masculine or feminine?

« échelle » is feminine. You say l'échelle.

« l'échelle » hides the gender. Is « échelle » masculine or feminine?

It is feminine. The article shortens to « l'échelle » for both genders, but you say une échelle, not un échelle, and adjectives take the feminine form.


Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.