Is « ancêtre » masculine or feminine?
« ancêtre » works as both masculine and feminine. You will see un ancêtre and une ancêtre, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person described.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'ancêtre |
| With the indefinite article | un ancêtre / une ancêtre |
| With the partitive article | de l'ancêtre |
Plural
The plural is ancêtres (les ancêtres). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
In a sentence
-
J'ai des ancêtres amazighs.
I have Berber ancestry. -
La terre de mes ancêtres me manque.
I miss the land of my ancestors. -
Nos ancêtres savaient lire les étoiles.
Our ancestors knew how to read the stars.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Common questions
Is « ancêtre » masculine or feminine?
« ancêtre » works as both. You will see un ancêtre and une ancêtre, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person being described.
Is it « un ancêtre » or « une ancêtre »?
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.