According to a study by McGill University, a

nouns ending indicates its gender in 80% of cases .

Based on this study, here is a list of typically
masculine and typically feminine noun endings.
Nouns with these endings were found to be of the
same gender in more than 90% of cases.

I dont recommend you to learn these endings by

heart since it would be extremely boring. Instead,
bookmark this page and regularly look at this list.

After a while, you will see that you can intuitively

guess the gender of a noun based on its ending.

I also created a simplified list thats easier to

remember. Youll find it below this first list :).

Typically masculine noun endings (+90%)

-an, -and, -ant, -ent, -in, -int, -om, -ond, -ont, -on (
but not after s/c)
-eau, -au, -aud, -aut, -o, -os, -ot
-ai, -ais, -ait, -es, -et
-ou, -out, -out, -oux
-i, -il, -it, -is, -y
-at, -as, -ois, -oit
-u, -us, -ut, -eu
-er, -eafter C (C=t)
-age, -ege, ` eme, -ome/- ` ome, -aume, -isme
-as, -is, -os, -us, -ex
-it, -est
-al, -el, -il, -ol, -eul, -all
-if, -ef
-ac, -ic, -oc, -uc
 -am, -um, -en
-air, -er, -erf, -ert, -ar, -arc, -ars, -art, -our, -ours, -
or, -ord, -ors, -ort, -ir, -oir, -eur
(if animate)
-ail, -eil, -euil, -ueil
-ing
Typically feminine noun endings (+90%)
-aie, -oue, -eue, -ion, -te, ee, -ie, -ue
-asse, -ace, -esse, -ece, -aisse, -isse/-ice, -ousse, -
ance, -anse, -ence, -once
-enne, -onne, -une, -ine, -aine, -eine, -erne
-ande, -ende, -onde, -ade, -ude, -arde, -orde
-euse, -ouse, -ase, -aise, -ese, -oise, -ise, -yse, -
ose, -use
-ache, -iche, -eche, -oche, -uche, -ouche, -anche
-ave, -eve, -ive
-iere, -ure, -eure
-ette, -ete, ete, -atte, -otte, -oute, -orte, -
ante, -ente, -inte, -onte
-alle, -elle, -ille, -olle
-aille, -eille, -ouille
-appe, -ampe, -ombe
-igue
 Nouns and adjectives are either masculine or feminine.
There are only two options (little mercy for that). There is
no such thing as neutral ("it").

There is no physical reason explaining why some words

are "female" and others are "male", so don't look for clues
in their shape or purpose.

Genders are either decided by the look or the sound of

words. Only the last syllable matters.

Trying to learn lists containing 100+ rules is foolish so don't

try so sort out all word endings. Common sense dictates
concentrating on the most common endings. Pay attention
to the words you use the most often.

No rule is 100% foolproof in French. There are a number of

exceptions in word genders too. Those are a bit like double
bluffs: it's unfair, I know, and I apologize from the bottom of
my heart. You will need to learn by heart, I'm afraid.
With experience, predicting genders with great accuracy is
easy. It's just a case of spotting recurring themes. But if you are
left you to your own device, this may take an age and I know
you are eager to learn, so I've created a cheat sheet with 26
common endings, which I loosely paired up. I added many
examples for each ending. When using this cheat sheet, read
these lists of words out loud!

The aim is to hammer in the information using repetition. If you

don't know the meaning of all these words yet, it's not a
problem: you don't need to look them up at this point. You only
need to focus on the article and the ending of a word.

By the way, if youre cheekily thinking youll solve this issue by

speaking a mangled article that could pass for either "un" or
"une", think again! Refusing to learn and botching your
pronunciation is the worst thing you could do at this point.
Enunciate clearly "un" [Un] and "une" [u-nnnnuh]. Please note
that I deliberately shied away from "le" and "la": for a start, they
would make this exercise futile for all the words starting with a
vowel.

One more note before we go: if I write something with quotation

marks like this: "ette", I refer to the actual spelling of the word
ending. If I use the square brackets like this: [et], I refer to the
way it's pronounced in French, using English letters (and the
French letter , which sound like the letter "e" in the word
"merry" and "jet").

Now, let's develop that instinct for words!

1. Words finishing with "et" and "ette"

Words ending in et sounds [] with a silent t are
masculine.

On the other hand are words ending in "ette" sounds [t].

These words are unmistakably feminine. Don't be afraid
of pronouncing the "t"now, it's actually essential in the
feminine form!
 Don't forget: Don't pronounce the final "t" in the masculine
words, or they will sound odd.

Un tabouret, un beignet, un
Une toilette, une crevette,
dchet, un bleuet, un bidet, un
une assiette, une fourchette,
cassoulet, un buffet, un chalet, un
une serviette, une vinaigrette,
complet, un navet, un objet, un
une raquette, une tablette
trajet, un volet

2. al vs. elle
Words ending with the sound [al] (make them rhyme with
"Al" and "pal", not with the word "all") are masculine.

The word ending "elle" is pronounced [el], so ignore the

extra letters. It's feminine, always.

Une poubelle, la vaisselle, une

Un festival, un journal,
chandelle, une hirondelle, une gazelle,
un terminal, un tribunal,
une pelle, une voyelle
un canal

3. [o] vs. [ot]

Words finishing in "eau", "au", "o" or "ot" are all to be
pronounced like an ordinary one syllable "o". There are
masculine, but there are at least 2 big exceptions to this
rule.

Words in "otte" are not that common, but they are

pronounced [ot]. Make sure you say that "t" in the
feminine form.

Un cadeau, un chteau, un manteau,

Une botte, une culotte,
un tableau, un bateau, un morceau,
une mascotte, une
un rideau, un rteau.
cocotte, une roulotte
Un gigot, un abricot, un grelot, un
canot, un mgot, un tricot, un bibelot
Exceptions : une eau et une peau

4. "ier" vs. "ire"

Pronounced "ier" like [ee-ay]. There is no "r" sound at all.
It's masculine.

On the other hand, "ire" is pronounced [ee-yair] so roll

that "r". It's feminine.

Un escalier, un glacier, un pommier, Une bire, une cafetire,

un palmier, un chandelier, un fermier, une rivire, une poussire,
un panier, un soulier, un dentier, un une matire, une cuisinire
clavier, un courrier Exceptions : un cimetire,
un derrire
 5. "eur" vs. "euse"
Adjectives ending in "eur" are masculine. They usually end
in "euse" in the feminine form.

Nouns work the same way, but there is a list of exceptions,

which makes it trickier.

Un aspirateur, un bonheur, un
dpanneur, un vendeur, un
serveur. Une vendeuse, une serveuse,
Exceptions : une couleur, une une laveuse, une scheuse, une
valeur, une longueur, une souffleuse
largeur.
 6. "in" vs. "ine"
The English "in" sound is different from the French "in". If
you say "in" in English, you are actually saying "ine" in
French, which is feminine. Drag the "n" in the feminine
form.

The French "in" is masculine. It's very very short; don't

drag that "n"!

Un vin, un pain, un matin,

un sapin, un patin Une vitamine, une toxine, une
racine, une cabine, une tartine

Exception : une fin

 7. "on" vs. "onne"
Just like "in", the English "on" is different from the French
"on". If you say "on" in English, you are actually saying
onne in French, which is feminine. Drag the "n" in the
feminine form.

The French "on" is masculine. It's very short. Don't drag

that "n".

Beware of (at least) 3 big exceptions!

Un garon, un oignon, un savon, un

avion, un camion, un lion, un poisson,
une personne, une
un poison, un poivron, un saumon, un
tonne, une bonne, une
bouillon, un bouton
consonne, une colonne

Exceptions : une maison, une leon et

une chanson
 8. Words in "oir" and "oire"
Both endings have the same [war] sound. Here, we rely
on spelling only. That extra "e" makes the whole
difference.

Words ending in oir are masculine, while words ending in

oire are feminine.

Beware, there are some exceptions too.

Une histoire, une baignoire, une armoire,

Un miroir, un devoir, un tiroir, un trottoir, une bouilloire, une poire, une glissoire, une
mchoire, une passoire
un comptoir, un couloir, un mouchoir, un
manoir, un peignoir Exceptions : un accessoire et un pourboire

9. "ur" vs. "ure"

There are not many words ending in "ur", but the few that
exist are masculine.
 Words in "ure" are far more common. "ure" is
pronounced the same ways as "ur" but that extra "e"
makes it feminine.

un mur, une peinture, une couverture, une confiture, une

un futur,sculpture, une clture

un
fmur Exception : un cyanure

10. "age" vs. "esse"

Here, I paired those words very loosely together. They are not
really related. Just keep in mind that "age" (pronounced [ajuh])
is usually masculine and "esse" (pronounced [ss]) is feminine.

Un garage, un message, un
bandage, un avantage, un Une vitesse, une caresse, une
potage faiblesse, une richesse,

une politesse, une tigresse, une

Exceptions : scheresse, une tresse, une
altesse.
une plage, une cage, une
page

11. "il", "euil", "ail" and "ille"

I know you will find this a section challenging. I apologize in
advance.

If you look at the spelling, it's rather easy: "il" = masculine.

"ille"= feminine. The difficulty is in the pronunciation.

Words finishing in "il" are masculine, but not all final "L"s
are to be pronounced! See table below.

Words finishing in "euil" are just a variant of "il". They are

usually detested because they are "hard to say". Theres
no reason for that, however. Think of "euil" as [UHYi], but
make that last "i" as small as possible.
 "ail" is another version of "il". It's also masculine.
Pronounce it [a-yuh].

"ille" is normally pronounced [ee-yuh] but there is a

handful of exceptions where it's pronounced like a normal
"il" [eel].

"ouille" is pronounced [oo-yuh]

"eille" is pronounced [-yuh]

L sound: un fil, un pril, le

YUH: une fille, une famille, une
Brsil,
cheville, une pupille, une chenille,
Silent L: un outil, un
une croustille, une jonquille
sourcil
L sound: une ville
UHYi: un cureuil, un
OO-YUH: une grenouille, une
chevreuil, un oeil, un
quenouille,
deuil, un fauteuil,
-YUH: une oreille, une bouteille
A-YUH: un ail, un chandail
 12. [en] vs. [ens]
Words finishing in "ment" are usually masculine. It's
pronounced with a short "n" and no "t".

Words in "ance" are feminine. Pronounce it [ens]. I want to

hear that "s"!

Un gouvernement, un Une connaissance, une vacance,

aliment, un vtement, un une chance, une malchance, une
ciment, un sentiment croyance, une alliance

13. [k-] vs. [ik]

Words ending in "ic" are typically masculine. Pronounce it
[ik].

Words finishing in "que" (pronounced [kuh] or simply [k-])

are predominantly feminine but there are several
exceptions.
 Une boutique, une banque, une
bibliothque, une remorque, une
Un plastic, un diagnostic, arabesque, une tique, une tunique,
un trafic, un arsenic, un une tuque.
basilic, un dclic, un
syndic.
Exceptions : un antibiotique, un
cirque, un disque, un kiosque.

Last tip for today:

Hyphenated words, made up of a verb and a noun, are
usually masculine.

Un ouvre-bouteille (verb OUVRIR "to open")

un grille-pain (verb GRILLER "to grill")
un lave-vaisselle (verb LAVER "to wash")
un couvre-lit (verb COUVRIR "to cover")
un casse-noix (verb CASSER "to shatter")
un brise-glace (verb BRISER "to break")

Exception : une garde-robe (verbe GARDER "to keep")

In short:
 The pice de resistance

Heres the bit that will make you want to scream.

Some words are both masculine and feminine. There are not
many of those, but you have to admire them for craftiness
because depending on the gender, the meaning of those
words changes completely!

Un mmoire = an
Une mmoire = memory
essay

Un critique = a critic
Une critique = a review / a criticism
(person)

Un mode = a mode /
Une mode = fashion / a trend
setting

Un moule = a mold Une moule = a mussel

 Une livre = a pound (weight unit and
Un livre = a book
British currency)

Un tour = a trick Une tour = a tower

Un poste = a post / a
La poste = mail
position

Now, let's be real. I know you didn't enjoy this (but if you did,
please hit the *like* button at the top of the page). My goal was
to make it a clearer and a bit more structured, and if possible,
less repellent. I hope I did not let you down.

Keep in mind that native French speakers make mistakes too.

To pick only one example, I've heard "un orange" countless
times (this fruit's "feminine", by the way). So getting it wrong is
not the end of the world. Just do your best and keep trying!