Is « maître » masculine or feminine?
« maître » works as both masculine and feminine. You will see un maître and une maître, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person described.
In English, « maître » means master; primary-school teacher; form of address for a lawyer.
Article forms
| With the definite article | le maître / la maître |
| With the indefinite article | un maître / une maître |
| With the partitive article | du maître / de la maître |
Plural
The plural is maîtres (les maîtres). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
In a sentence
-
Tu es le maître.
You're the master. -
Elle aime le maitre.
She likes the teacher. -
Il est le maître des lieux.
He is master of this house.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Common questions
Is « maître » masculine or feminine?
« maître » works as both. You will see un maître and une maître, with the article carrying the meaning or agreeing with the person being described.
Is it « un maître » or « une maître »?
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.