Is « espoir » masculine or feminine?

« espoir » works as both masculine and feminine. You will see un espoir and une espoir, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person described.

Article forms

With the definite article l'espoir
With the indefinite article un espoir / une espoir
With the partitive article de l'espoir

Plural

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

Why the gender

espoir ends in -oir. Nouns ending in -oir are usually masculine, though espoir works as either gender. The full rules by ending cover every common suffix.

Related words

Other common nouns that end the same way:

Common questions

Is « espoir » masculine or feminine?

« espoir » works as both. You will see un espoir and une espoir, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person being described.

Is it « un espoir » or « une espoir »?

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.