French Gender -> How to guess whether a noun is feminine or masculine ?

Bonjour à toutes et à tous !

A very common nightmare for French students is the gender ! Why "une chaise" (a chaire) is feminine and "un canapé" (a sofa) masculine ?

Well, a very interesting study by McGill University tells us that we can actually find the gender of a French noun with more than 90% accuracy just by looking at its ending ! Oulala !

Let's have a look.

You can be 90% sure that these are masculine noun endings:

-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, -e´after C
-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
-ail, -eil, -euil, -ueil
-ing

You can be 90% sure that these are feminine noun endings:

-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, – ˆ ete, -atte, -otte, -oute, -orte, -ante, -ente, -inte, -onte
-alle, -elle, -ille, -olle
-aille, -eille, -ouille
-appe, -ampe, -ombe
-igue

Ok, I agree, that's still a lot to remember. Mais c'est toujours mieux que rien non ? :)


Here is the link for the McGill study : https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-french-language-studies/article/predictability-in-french-gender-attribution-a-corpus-analysis/1614CE6C046E4C05A9DBBCD3321327F4


2018年5月1日
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Arthur

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Bonjour tout le monde ! My name is Arthur, a native Parisian and a professional French teacher. As a freelancer, I frequently contribute to magazines and newspapers. Since 2015, I have taught French in London, Tokyo, and Granada, driven by my fascination with the language's beauty, poetry, nuances, and subtlety. My goal is to share this passion, helping you uncover the treasures of French. Whether you're learning French for studies, work, personal projects, or as a hobby, I'm eager to assist you, regardless of your proficiency level. I liken language learning to forest planting. First, you select the seeds carefully, then plant them thoughtfully - not just anywhere or anytime. The gardener's role is to choose the right seeds, timing, and location. Each seed represents a new piece of knowledge or skill, needing nurture in its early stages. Like a young shoot, it strengthens, expands, intermingles with other knowledge, and becomes vital in your language ecosystem. As time passes, ...
Flag
Francese
globe
Francia
time
835
Parla:
Francese
Madrelingua
,
Inglese
C1
Bonjour tout le monde ! My name is Arthur, a native Parisian and a professional French teacher. As a freelancer, I frequently contribute to magazines and newspapers. Since 2015, I have taught French in London, Tokyo, and Granada, driven by my fascination with the language's beauty, poetry, nuances, and subtlety. My goal is to share this passion, helping you uncover the treasures of French. Whether you're learning French for studies, work, personal projects, or as a hobby, I'm eager to assist you, regardless of your proficiency level. I liken language learning to forest planting. First, you select the seeds carefully, then plant them thoughtfully - not just anywhere or anytime. The gardener's role is to choose the right seeds, timing, and location. Each seed represents a new piece of knowledge or skill, needing nurture in its early stages. Like a young shoot, it strengthens, expands, intermingles with other knowledge, and becomes vital in your language ecosystem. As time passes, ...
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