Is « ail » masculine or feminine?

« ail » is masculine. You say l'ail.

Article forms

With the definite article l'ail
With the indefinite article un ail
With the partitive article de l'ail

Plural

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

Why the gender

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

« ail » is masculine. You say l'ail.

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

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


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