Is « dauphin » masculine or feminine?
« dauphin » is masculine. You say le dauphin.
Article forms
| With the definite article | le dauphin |
| With the indefinite article | un dauphin |
| With the partitive article | du dauphin |
Plural
The plural is dauphins (les dauphins). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
dauphin ends in
-in. Nouns ending in
-in are usually masculine,
so dauphin follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
Le Dauphin fut enlevé.
The king's son was kidnapped. -
Les dauphins sont curieux.
Dolphins are weird. -
Le dauphin est un mammifère.
A dolphin is a mammal.
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 « dauphin » masculine or feminine?
« dauphin » is masculine. You say le dauphin.
Is it « la dauphin » or « le dauphin »?
It is « le dauphin ». « la dauphin » is incorrect.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.