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Is « substance » masculine or feminine?

« substance » is feminine. You say la substance.

Article forms

Plural

The plural is substances (les substances). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.

Why the gender

substance ends in -ance. Nouns ending in -ance are usually feminine, so substance follows the pattern. The full rules by ending cover every common suffix.

In a sentence

• Le sel est une substance utile.
  Salt is a useful substance.
• Consommes-tu des substances illicites ?
  Do you use any illegal substances?
• Une substance visqueuse coulait du tuyau.
  Slime was oozing out of the pipe.

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:

• chance
• confiance
• avance
• importance
• vacance
• connaissance
• naissance
• assurance

Common questions

Is « substance » masculine or feminine?

« substance » is feminine. You say la substance.

Is it « le substance » or « la substance »?

It is « la substance ». « le substance » is incorrect.

Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.