Is « orphelin » masculine or feminine?
« orphelin » is masculine. You say l'orphelin.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'orphelin |
| With the indefinite article | un orphelin |
| With the partitive article | de l'orphelin |
Plural
The plural is orphelins (les orphelins). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
orphelin ends in
-in. Nouns ending in
-in are usually masculine,
so orphelin follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
Il a adopté l'orphelin.
He adopted the orphan. -
J'ai adopté un orphelin.
I adopted an orphan. -
Ils adoptèrent l'orphelin.
They adopted the orphan.
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 « orphelin » masculine or feminine?
« orphelin » is masculine. You say l'orphelin.
« l'orphelin » hides the gender. Is « orphelin » masculine or feminine?
It is masculine. The article shortens to « l'orphelin » for both genders, but you say un orphelin, not une orphelin, and adjectives take the masculine form.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.