How to Change Masculine Nouns to Feminine Nouns in French

French and English are two totally different languages. One of the major differences is that in French nouns like "friend" have two different forms depending on whether you are talking about a female friend or a male friend!

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Words That Add an "E" to the End

  1. Image titled Change Masculine Nouns to Feminine Nouns in French Step 1
    1
    Look at the word. See if it currently ends in an "e" (such as amie, employée, or cousine) or ends in another letter (such as ami, employé, or cousin). If it ends in an "e" it is most likely feminine.
  2. Image titled Change Masculine Nouns to Feminine Nouns in French Step 2
    2
    If you want the noun to be for a female, make sure it ends in an "e". If it should be male, omit the "e".
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Words That Change "eur" to "euse"

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    1
    Look at the word. See if it currently ends in "eur" (such as travailleur) or ends in "euse" (such as travailleuse). [1]
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    2
    If you want the noun to be for a female, make sure it ends in "euse". If it does not, drop the "eur" and add "euse".
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    3
    If you want the noun to be for a male, make sure it ends in "eur". If it does not, drop the "euse" and add "eur".
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Words That Change Only the Article

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    1
    Look at the word and see if it ends in "iste" or "logue" (such as dentiste or psychologue).
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    2
    Look at the article and see if it is "le" or "la".
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    3
    If you want it to be for a female, make the article "la".
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    4
    If you want it to be for a male, make the article "le".
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Words That Change "teur" to "trice"

  1. Image titled Change Masculine Nouns to Feminine Nouns in French Step 10
    1
    Look at the word and see if it ends in "teur" (such as directeur), or "trice" (such as directrice).
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    2
    If you want it to be female, make sure it ends in "trice". If it does not, drop the "teur" and add "trice".
  3. Image titled Change Masculine Nouns to Feminine Nouns in French Step 12
    3
    If you want it to be male, make sure it ends in "teur". If it does not, drop the "trice" and add "teur".
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How do I make feminine and masculine words for colors?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Here's a basic list of the colors in both genders for you: Masculine: blanc (white), noir (black), rose (pink), rouge (red), bleu, orange, jaune (yellow), gris (grey/gray), marron (brown), vert (green), violet (purple). Feminine: blanche, noire, rose, rouge, bleue, orange, jaune, grise, marron, verte, violette
  • Question
    How do I change the word if it ends with double consonant and an "e"?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    It depends on the word, but the feminine form is most likely identical to the masculine one in this situation. For example: "un oracle" -> "une oracle." However, certain words have an already specific feminine form. For example, "un comte" -> "une comtesse." It is better to check a dictionary for the feminine form in case it already exists.
  • Question
    What happens if the word ends in the letter "d"?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    One example, Allemand, can be easily changed to the feminine form by simply adding an e to the end, making the word Allemande. This should be true for all French nouns ending in d.
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References

  1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutrality_in_languages_with_grammatical_gender

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 10 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 33,281 times.
55 votes - 68%
Co-authors: 10
Updated: November 21, 2021
Views: 33,281
Categories: French
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