Is « oiseau » masculine or feminine?
« oiseau » is masculine. You say l'oiseau.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'oiseau |
| With the indefinite article | un oiseau |
| With the partitive article | de l'oiseau |
Plural
The plural is oiseaux (les oiseaux). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
oiseau ends in
-eau. Nouns ending in
-eau are usually masculine,
so oiseau follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
Nourris l'oiseau !
Feed the bird! -
Il visa l'oiseau.
He aimed at the bird. -
L'oiseau est mort.
The bird is dead.
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 « oiseau » masculine or feminine?
« oiseau » is masculine. You say l'oiseau.
« l'oiseau » hides the gender. Is « oiseau » masculine or feminine?
It is masculine. The article shortens to « l'oiseau » for both genders, but you say un oiseau, not une oiseau, and adjectives take the masculine form.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.