Is « main » masculine or feminine?
« main » is feminine. You say la main.
In English, « main » means hand.
Article forms
| With the definite article | la main |
| With the indefinite article | une main |
| With the partitive article | de la main |
Plural
The plural is mains (les mains). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
main ends in
-in. Nouns ending in
-in are usually masculine,
so main is one of the exceptions: it is
feminine.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
Ouvre la main !
Open your hand. -
Il tendit la main.
He held out his hand. -
Baisse les mains !
Put your hands down!
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 « main » masculine or feminine?
« main » is feminine. You say la main.
Is it « le main » or « la main »?
It is « la main ». « le main » is incorrect.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.