Is « bactérie » masculine or feminine?
« bactérie » is feminine. You say la bactérie.
Article forms
| With the definite article | la bactérie |
| With the indefinite article | une bactérie |
| With the partitive article | de la bactérie |
Plural
The plural is bactéries (les bactéries). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
bactérie ends in
-ie. Nouns ending in
-ie are usually feminine,
so bactérie follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
Les bactéries sont partout.
Bacteria are everywhere. -
Les bactéries sont invisibles à l'œil nu.
Bacteria are invisible to the naked eye. -
Cette maladie est causée par une bactérie.
That disease is caused by bacteria.
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 « bactérie » masculine or feminine?
« bactérie » is feminine. You say la bactérie.
Is it « le bactérie » or « la bactérie »?
It is « la bactérie ». « le bactérie » is incorrect.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.