Is « étincelle » masculine or feminine?

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

Article forms

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

Plural

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

Why the gender

étincelle ends in -elle. Nouns ending in -elle are usually feminine, so étincelle 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 « étincelle » masculine or feminine?

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

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

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


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