Is « inconnu » masculine or feminine?
« inconnu » is masculine. You say l'inconnu.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'inconnu |
| With the indefinite article | un inconnu |
| With the partitive article | de l'inconnu |
Plural
The plural is inconnus (les inconnus). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
In a sentence
-
Dan a été tué par un inconnu.
Dan was killed by an unknown intruder. -
Ce n'est pas un inconnu pour moi.
He is no stranger to me. -
Le chien aboya envers l'inconnu.
The dog barked at the stranger.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Common questions
Is « inconnu » masculine or feminine?
« inconnu » is masculine. You say l'inconnu.
« l'inconnu » hides the gender. Is « inconnu » masculine or feminine?
It is masculine. The article shortens to « l'inconnu » for both genders, but you say un inconnu, not une inconnu, and adjectives take the masculine form.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.