First words, read 10 of 15, 3 min
Le, la, un, une: every noun has a gender
Le, la, un, une
Every French noun is masculine or feminine, even a table. The gender decides the small words around it, so learn each noun together with its article.
The four small words
le and la mean the. un and une mean a. Before a vowel or silent h, le and la both become l'.
- le livrethe book (masculine)
- la tablethe table (feminine)
- l'amithe friend (masculine)
- l'écolethe school (feminine)
- un livrea book
- une tablea table
More than one
For plurals, use les for the, and des for some. The final s is silent, so you hear the plural in les and des, not in the noun. French needs des where English often says nothing: « J'ai des amis » means I have friends.
- les livreslay leevrthe books
- des tablesday tabl(some) tables
- les amislay-za-meethe friends
- des amisday-za-mee(some) friends
Spotting the gender
You can't always tell, but endings help. Words in -tion and -té are nearly always feminine. Words in -ment and -age are usually masculine. These are guides, not laws, and the word's article is what you should memorise.
- la nation-tion: femininethe nation
- la liberté-té: femininefreedom
- le moment-ment: masculinethe moment
- le voyage-age: masculinethe journey
The English sound guides are only rough. When they disagree with the voice, go with the voice.