French Nouns That Change Meaning by Gender
A small group of French nouns keep the same spelling and the same sound for two unrelated meanings, and the only thing telling them apart is the gender. Say le livre and you mean a book. Say la livre and you mean a pound.
These pairs are worth knowing because getting the article wrong does not just sound off, it says something you did not mean. To check any other word, use the lookup tool, and for the patterns behind gender in general, see the gender rules by ending.
The ones you will meet first
le livre / la livre
le livre: a book
« J'ai fini le livre hier soir. »
I finished the book last night.
la livre: a pound (the weight, or the former currency)
« Achète une livre de farine. »
Buy a pound of flour.
le tour / la tour
le tour: a turn, a walk, a lap, a trick
« On a fait le tour du lac à pied. »
We walked all the way around the lake.
la tour: a tower
« La tour Eiffel mesure trois cents mètres. »
The Eiffel Tower is three hundred meters tall.
le mode / la mode
le mode: a way or method, and a grammatical mood
« Lis le mode d'emploi avant de commencer. »
Read the instructions before you start.
la mode: fashion
« Cette couleur est à la mode cette année. »
That color is in fashion this year.
le poste / la poste
le poste: a job, a set (TV or radio), a station
« Elle a décroché un poste à Lyon. »
She landed a job in Lyon.
la poste: the post office, the mail service
« Je passe à la poste ce matin. »
I am stopping by the post office this morning.
le manche / la manche
le manche: a handle
« Le manche du couteau est fendu. »
The knife handle is cracked.
la manche: a sleeve (and la Manche, the English Channel)
« Il a retroussé ses manches. »
He rolled up his sleeves.
le voile / la voile
le voile: a veil
« La mariée portait un voile en dentelle. »
The bride wore a lace veil.
la voile: a sail, and the sport of sailing
« On fait de la voile le dimanche. »
We go sailing on Sundays.
le vase / la vase
le vase: a vase
« Mets les fleurs dans le vase bleu. »
Put the flowers in the blue vase.
la vase: silt, mud
« La barque s'est enlisée dans la vase. »
The boat got stuck in the mud.
le crêpe / la crêpe
le crêpe: crêpe, the fabric or the rubber
« Elle portait une robe de crêpe noir. »
She wore a black crêpe dress.
la crêpe: a crêpe, the pancake
« On mange des crêpes à la Chandeleur. »
We eat crêpes on Candlemas.
le mémoire / la mémoire
le mémoire: a dissertation or report
« Il rend son mémoire de master en juin. »
He hands in his master's thesis in June.
la mémoire: memory
« J'ai une mauvaise mémoire des noms. »
I have a bad memory for names.
le poêle / la poêle
le poêle: a stove
« Le poêle à bois chauffe toute la maison. »
The wood stove heats the whole house.
la poêle: a frying pan
« Fais chauffer la poêle. »
Heat up the frying pan.
More pairs to know
| Word | As masculine | As feminine |
|---|---|---|
| critique | a critic (the person) | criticism, or a review |
| physique | physical appearance | physics |
| politique | a political figure | politics, or a policy |
| pendule | a pendulum | a clock |
| somme | a nap | a sum, an amount |
| moule | a mold, a cast | a mussel |
| page | a pageboy | a page |
| cache | a cover or mask | a hiding place |
| aide | a helper, an assistant | help, assistance |
| vapeur | a steamship | steam |
| solde | an account balance, a clearance sale | military pay |
| foudre | a huge wine cask | lightning |
| aigle | an eagle (and, of a person, a genius) | a female eagle, or an emblem |
| mousse | a ship's boy | moss, foam, or mousse |
Almost the same word
One near miss worth adding: le capital means wealth or assets, while la capitale means a capital city or a capital letter. The two sound the same and differ by a single letter, so in speech only the article separates them.
Masculine in the singular, feminine in the plural
Three nouns are traditionally masculine on their own but feminine once you make them plural: amour, délice, and orgue. So un amour fou but des amours contrariées, and un orgue but les grandes orgues. Everyday speech increasingly keeps these masculine throughout, especially amour, so treat the feminine plural as the careful literary form rather than a hard rule.
Common questions
Why do some French words have two genders?
Usually because two separate words, or two senses of one word, drifted apart over centuries. Rather than respell them, French keeps the meanings apart with the article. The gender is often the only thing that tells you which one is meant.
Which of these nouns trips up learners the most?
Le tour and la tour, and le mode and la mode, because both meanings are common and both come up early. La Manche for the English Channel also surprises people, since the handle le manche is masculine but the sleeve la manche is feminine.
Does the pronunciation change with the gender?
No. In every pair here the two words sound identical. Only the article and the agreement of nearby adjectives show which gender, and therefore which meaning, is in play.
Wondering about a word that is not on this list? Look it up on the home page.
See also: the complete guide to French noun gender, gender rules by ending, and nouns English speakers get wrong.