Is « écrivain » masculine or feminine?

« écrivain » works as both masculine and feminine. You will see un écrivain and une écrivain, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person described.

Article forms

With the definite article l'écrivain
With the indefinite article un écrivain / une écrivain
With the partitive article de l'écrivain

Plural

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

Why the gender

écrivain ends in -in. Nouns ending in -in are usually masculine, though écrivain works as either gender. The full rules by ending cover every common suffix.

Related words

Other common nouns that end the same way:

Common questions

Is « écrivain » masculine or feminine?

« écrivain » works as both. You will see un écrivain and une écrivain, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person being described.

Is it « un écrivain » or « une écrivain »?

Both are correct. Use the masculine or the feminine depending on the sense or the person.


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