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.

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.