Is « absence » masculine or feminine?
« absence » is feminine. You say l'absence.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'absence |
| With the indefinite article | une absence |
| With the partitive article | de l'absence |
Plural
The plural is absences (les absences). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
absence ends in
-ence. Nouns ending in
-ence are usually feminine,
so absence follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
La violence est une absence d'amour.
Violence is an absence of love. -
L'absence est le plus grand des maux.
Absence is the greatest woe. -
Il fournit une excuse pour son absence.
He excused his absence.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Related words
Other common nouns that end the same way:
Common questions
Is « absence » masculine or feminine?
« absence » is feminine. You say l'absence.
« l'absence » hides the gender. Is « absence » masculine or feminine?
It is feminine. The article shortens to « l'absence » for both genders, but you say une absence, not un absence, and adjectives take the feminine form.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.