Is « orbite » masculine or feminine?
« orbite » is feminine. You say l'orbite.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'orbite |
| With the indefinite article | une orbite |
| With the partitive article | de l'orbite |
Plural
The plural is orbites (les orbites). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
In a sentence
-
Les planètes suivent des orbites elliptiques.
The planets follow elliptical orbits. -
La Terre voyage sur une orbite autour du Soleil.
The earth travels in an orbit around the sun. -
La planète Saturne complète son orbite en trente ans.
The planet Saturn completes its orbit within thirty years.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Common questions
Is « orbite » masculine or feminine?
« orbite » is feminine. You say l'orbite.
« l'orbite » hides the gender. Is « orbite » masculine or feminine?
It is feminine. The article shortens to « l'orbite » for both genders, but you say une orbite, not un orbite, and adjectives take the feminine form.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.