Amélie · Learn French Learn French · Free tool French Noun Gender Checker — le or la?
The single biggest headache in French grammar is noun gender: is it le or la, un or une? Gender is baked into each word, so the golden habit is to always learn a noun with its article — say "la table", never just "table". But you're not flying blind: the ending of a noun predicts its gender most of the time. Learn the patterns below, use the checker when you're stuck, and practise until le and la feel automatic.
- -tion / -sion · la nation, la décision
- -té / -tié · la liberté, l'amitié except le côté, l'été
- -ée · la journée, l'idée except le musée, le lycée
- -ette · la fourchette, la baguette
- -ance / -ence · la chance, la science except le silence
- -ure · la voiture, la nature
- -ie · la vie, la boulangerie except le génie, l'incendie
- -age · le fromage, le voyage except la plage, la page, l'image
- -ment · le gouvernement, le moment
- -eau · le bureau, le château except l'eau, la peau
- -isme · le tourisme, le capitalisme
- -ail / -eil / -euil · le travail, le soleil
- -in / -oir · le vin, le miroir except la main, la fin
- -eur (people & machines) · le moteur, le professeur but la peur, la couleur
Check a noun's gender
Type a French noun (or pick one below) to get its article — le/la and un/une — plus the ending rule behind it.
Practice: le or la?
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Why French gender feels random (and how to beat it)
A table isn't "more feminine" than a book — grammatical gender has nothing to do with meaning. It's a label attached to each noun, and the only way to be fully sure is to learn the article with the word. The good news: French spelling is regular enough that the last few letters of a noun predict its gender correctly around 80–90% of the time, which is exactly what the rules above capture.
The exceptions worth memorising
- -age is masculine, but la plage, la page, la cage, l'image, la nage and la rage are feminine.
- -eau is masculine, but l'eau (water) and la peau (skin) are feminine.
- -ée is feminine, but le musée, le lycée and le trophée are masculine.
- -eur splits: people and machines are masculine (le professeur, le moteur), but many abstract nouns are feminine (la peur, la couleur, la fleur, la valeur). Note le bonheur and l'honneur stay masculine.
- Before a vowel or silent h, both le and la shrink to l' (l'ami, l'eau), hiding the gender — learn those nouns with un or une instead.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a French noun is le or la?
There is no way to tell from meaning alone — gender is a property of the word, so the safest habit is to learn every noun with its article (say "la table", never just "table"). That said, the word ending is a strong clue. Endings like -tion, -té, -ée, -ette, -ance and -ure are almost always feminine (la), while -age, -ment, -eau, -isme and -eil are almost always masculine (le). This tool checks 110+ common nouns for you and shows the rule behind each one.
Which French endings are feminine?
The most reliable feminine endings are -tion / -sion (la nation, la décision), -té (la liberté), -ée (la journée), -ette (la fourchette), -ance / -ence (la chance, la science), -ure (la voiture) and -ie (la vie). They hold the vast majority of the time. Watch a few masculine exceptions: le musée and le lycée end in -ée, and le silence ends in -ence.
Which French endings are masculine?
The most reliable masculine endings are -age (le fromage), -ment (le gouvernement), -eau (le bureau), -isme (le tourisme), -ail / -eil / -euil (le travail, le soleil, le fauteuil) and -oir (le miroir). The classic exceptions to learn: la plage, la page, la cage and l'image end in -age but are feminine, and l'eau and la peau end in -eau but are feminine.
Does un / une follow the same rule as le / la?
Yes. French gender is one property of the noun, so the same word takes le and un when masculine (le livre, un livre) and la and une when feminine (la table, une table). Learn the gender once and every article — le/la, un/une, ce/cette, mon/ma — falls into place. Before a vowel or silent h, le and la both shorten to l' (l'ami, l'eau), which hides the gender, so those words are especially worth memorising with un or une.