Is « mal » masculine or feminine?
« mal » is masculine. You say le mal.
In English, « mal » means evil; pain, ache; harm.
Article forms
| With the definite article | le mal |
| With the indefinite article | un mal |
| With the partitive article | du mal |
Plural
The plural is maux (les maux). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
mal ends in
-al. Nouns ending in
-al are usually masculine,
so mal follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
Le mal est fait.
The damage is done. -
Le mal était fait.
The damage was done. -
Ils ont eu du mal.
They struggled.
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 « mal » masculine or feminine?
« mal » is masculine. You say le mal.
Is it « la mal » or « le mal »?
It is « le mal ». « la mal » is incorrect.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.