Is « aîné » masculine or feminine?
« aîné » is masculine. You say l'aîné.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'aîné |
| With the indefinite article | un aîné |
| With the partitive article | de l'aîné |
Plural
The plural is aînés (les aînés). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
In a sentence
-
Tom est l'aîné.
Tom is the oldest. -
Je suis l'aîné.
I'm the firstborn. -
C'est toi l'aîné.
You're the oldest.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Common questions
Is « aîné » masculine or feminine?
« aîné » is masculine. You say l'aîné.
« l'aîné » hides the gender. Is « aîné » masculine or feminine?
It is masculine. The article shortens to « l'aîné » for both genders, but you say un aîné, not une aîné, and adjectives take the masculine form.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.