French Nouns
In French, les noms(nouns) are words that name people, places, things, ideas, activities, or qualities. There are common nouns, which are general terms for things, people, places, etc., like la ville(the city). And there are proper nouns which name specific people, places, things, like Paris(Paris). French nouns have grammatical gender, meaning they are categorized as either masculine or feminine. Typically, nouns can be singular or plural in number.
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Questions This Article Answers
What are nouns and how are they used in French?
How do I know the gender of a noun in French?
How do I make a noun plural in French?
What is the difference between a common noun and a proper noun in French?
What is a compound noun in French?
What is a noun phrase in French?
What are some nouns that beginners should know in French?
What Is a Noun in French?
In French, as in English, un nom(a noun) is a word used to name people, places, things, ideas, activities, or qualities. A noun is also sometimes called un substantif(a substantive).
Examples of French Nouns
| Category | French Noun | English |
|---|---|---|
| Person | le garçon | the boy |
| Place | la plage | the beach |
| Thing | le camion | the truck |
| Idea | l'amour | love |
| Activity | le chant | singing |
| Quality | la gentillesse | kindness |
The Top 5 Things You Need to Know About French Nouns
1. There are a lot of nouns in French!
Nouns are not just used for objects you can see and touch. French nouns can name something concrete, like le livre(the book), or something abstract, like l’amitié(friendship). They can name something real, like un cheval(a horse), or something fantastical, like une licorne(a unicorn). Nouns also include: days of the week, months, numbers, colors, family members, professions, languages, countries, holidays, emotions, concepts, and many other things!
2. Nouns have grammatical gender in French!
This means that French nouns are categorized as either masculine or feminine. If you’ve never encountered grammatical gender before, it can seem weird to think that something like a table has gender, but we’ll explain this concept and give you some tips for learning the gender of French nouns later in this article. And, in case you're wondering, table is feminine in French: une table(a table).
3. Most nouns can be singular or plural in number.
As in English, most nouns can be singular, referring to one, or plural, referring to more than one. For example: un restaurant(a restaurant), plusieurs restaurants(several restaurants). Some nouns aren't typically plural, like le riz(rice), or can't be plural, like Paris(Paris). On the other hand, some nouns are typically only used in the plural, like les lunettes(eyeglasses). Keep reading for more information about how to make nouns plural and exceptions you should know about!
4. Nouns can be the subject or the object of a verb in French.
In simple terms, a noun can be doing the action in a sentence (the subject of a verb), or it can take the action of the verb, either directly or indirectly (the object of a verb).
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5. In French, common nouns are almost always preceded by a determiner.
French common nouns are almost always preceded by un déterminant(a determiner), which is a word that may indicate the gender and/or number of the noun. The determiner can be an article (like the or a), a quantity (like two or many), a demonstrative adjective (like this), or a possessive adjective (like my). A determiner is typically required in French even if one isn't used in English.
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The most common determiners in French are definite articles and indefinite articles. These match in number and gender with the noun that they precede. It's good to learn nouns with an article because it will help you remember their gender!
Definite Articles in French
Definite articles generally translate as the in English.
Definite articles are sometimes used differently in French and in English. Learn how to use definite articles in French in this article:
Indefinite Articles in French
Indefinite articles generally translate as a, an, or some.
| Gender and Number | Indefinite Article | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine Singular | un | un livre | a book |
| Feminine Singular | une | une table | a table |
| Masculine or Feminine Plural | des | des chaises | some chairs |
Learn more about French indefinite articles by reading this article:
What is Grammatical Gender in French?
Most nouns in French are categorized as either feminine or masculine. This is called grammatical gender. For nouns that refer to people (and some animals) with an identifiable gender, this makes logical sense: un homme(a man) is grammatically masculine, while une femme(a woman) is grammatically feminine.
But almost every French noun, from inanimate objects to abstract concepts, has gender, and the gender typically has nothing to do with the qualities or uses of the items. For example, le maquillage(makeup), often used by women, is a masculine noun, while la cravate(necktie), often worn by men, is a feminine noun.
If you've never encountered this before, it may seem strange, but just think of it as two main types of nouns and don't get caught up trying to figure out why something has been categorized as feminine or masculine. Unless you want to do a deep dive into historical linguistics to understand how French evolved from Latin and other languages, just accept that each noun's gender is what it is!
Why Do I Need to Know What Gender a Noun Is in French?
It's important to learn a noun's gender because other parts of speech, like articles, adjectives, and pronouns also have masculine and feminine forms that generally rely on the gender of the noun they refer to. Writing and speaking French will be much more difficult if you don't know the gender of the nouns you are using! Here are some examples of sentences about a house and a truck, where knowing the gender of the feminine noun une maison(a house) and the masculine noun un camion(a truck) is important because it affects the word choice, spelling, and pronunciation of other words in the sentences about these nouns.
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How Do I Learn What Gender a Noun Is in French?
There are a few strategies you can use to learn the gender of a noun when you first encounter it or if you are unsure as you are reading or writing French.
Strategy 1. Learn New French Nouns With An Article
The best way to learn the gender of a noun is to learn new words along with a definite or indefinite article that identifies the gender of the noun. For example, don't memorize or practice saying voiture(car), memorize or practice la voiture(the car) so you remember this is a feminine noun.
Strategy 2. Look Up French Noun Gender in a Dictionary
You can find out noun gender by looking up a word in a dictionary, like Frenchdictionary.com. French words will typically be marked as f. for feminine or as m. for masculine.
Strategy 3. Look for Clues in a Sentence
If you are reading or listening to French, you can look for clues to determine a noun's gender, like whether the adjective modifying the noun is masculine or feminine. For example, you can guess that mon chapeau(my hat) is masculine since it is used with the masculine possessive adjective mon(my) and that ma veste(my jacket) is feminine since it is used with the feminine possessive adjective ma(my).
Are There Other Ways to Know the Gender of a French Noun?
There are some general guidelines that can help you guess the gender of a noun, like considering the gender of the person or animal you're talking about, learning some categories of nouns that are usually all the same gender, and looking at noun endings that may indicate gender. Remember, there are always exceptions to every rule, but these are good general concepts to know!
Guideline 1. Consider the Gender of a Person or Animal
When a noun refers to a person or animal that has an identifiable gender, the grammatical gender will match the male or female living thing. Simply put, nouns for males are masculine, and nouns for females are feminine. This includes things like family members, nationalities, professions, other types of groups of people, and some animals.
The table below shows a few examples of this concept. Note that sometimes, the word is spelled the same for the male and female nouns, and only the article indicates gender, as with the noun touriste(tourist) in the table below. Sometimes, there's a spelling difference between the two words, as with serveur(waiter) and serveuse(waitress). And sometimes, like in English, there are completely different words for the male and female counterparts, like with coq(rooster) and poule(hen).
Examples of Nouns That Correspond to an Identifiable Gender
Talking About People in French
If you want to refer to someone without using a gendered noun, you can use une personne(a person). While grammatically feminine, une personne can refer to any type of individual. You can also modify it with an adjective or descriptive clause. For example: une personne française(a French person) or la personne qui sert le repas(the person serving the meal).
Using Animal Vocabulary in French
Many animals and insects have a generic name with a fixed grammatical gender, like le singe(the monkey), le lapin(the rabbit), la baleine(the whale), and le papillon(the butterfly). This generic name is used for male and female animals without changing the grammatical gender of the noun, and this is true even if there are specific male and female nouns for that animal, like le singe(a male monkey) and la guenon(a female monkey) or le lapin(a male rabbit) and la lapine(a female rabbit). In general conversation, when the animal's gender isn't important to what you're saying, just use the generic noun.
Also, be aware that some of the words for female animals have vulgar connotations in French. To be on the safe side, it's fine to generally refer to cats and dogs in the masculine, regardless of the animal's actual gender. For example, in general conversation about your pets, you can use the generic masculine and just say: J'ai un chat et un chien.(I have a cat and a dog.)
Guideline 2. Learn Some Categories of French Nouns That Are Consistent in Gender
There are some categories of nouns that are generally either masculine or feminine. There are always exceptions, but as a rule of thumb, these categories may help you!
Examples of Categories of French Nouns That Are Generally Masculine
There are some categories of nouns that are usually masculine in French, such as cardinal points, colors, days of the week, languages, seasons, and words borrowed from English.
Examples of Categories French Nouns That Are Generally Feminine
There are a few categories of nouns that are usually feminine in French, including names of continents, countries and regions that end in -e in French (countries and regions that end in a consonant or any other vowel are usually masculine), and school subjects (other than languages, which are masculine).
Guideline 3. Look at the Ending of the French Noun, It May Indicate Gender
There are some noun endings that may indicate the gender of a noun, though there are a number of exceptions to these rules, so it is always best to check in a dictionary if you are unsure!
Some Examples of French Noun Endings That Are Usually Masculine
| Noun Ending | French Noun Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| -acle | le spectacle | the show |
| -al | le journal | the newspaper |
| -eau | le bateau | the boat |
| -in | le train | the train |
| -isme | le capitalisme | capitalism |
| -ment | le commencement | the beginning |
Some Examples of French Noun Endings That Are Usually Feminine
Some Nouns Change Meaning Due to Gender in French!
Some nouns that can be masculine or feminine without being two versions of the same noun—they are two different nouns with different meanings! Here are a couple of examples!
How to Make a Noun Plural in French
In general, nouns in French can be singular, referring to one, or plural, referring to two or more. Here is an overview of the rules for making a noun plural in French:
Main Rules for Making a French Noun Plural
However, there are some nouns that are usually only singular in French, like le riz(rice) or usually only plural, like les cheveux(hair), and some nouns that can't be plural, like la France(France).
To find out more about plural nouns in French, check out this more in-depth article!
What's the Difference Between Common Nouns and Proper Nouns in French?
Un nom commun(a common noun) is a general term for a person, place, thing, idea, activity, or quality, while un nom propre(a proper noun) usually refers to a specific person, place, or thing. As in English, proper nouns are almost always capitalized. Here are some examples:
Examples of French Common Nouns and Proper Nouns
| Category | Common Noun | Proper Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Person | la femme(the woman) | Jeanne d'Arc(Joan of Arc) |
| Place | le pays(the country) | le Maroc(Morocco) |
| Thing | la voiture(the car) | la Renault(the Renault) |
Find out more about proper nouns in French by checking out this article!
What Is a Compound Noun in French?
A nom composé(compound noun) is considered to be a noun in French. It is made up of two or more words that are combined into one word or are linked together by a hyphen. Compound nouns function in a sentence the same way as other nouns, though there are some special rules for making hyphenated compound nouns plural. Here are a few examples of compound nouns:
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When Two Words Become One
As you’ve seen, a compound noun is the combination of two words into one. Sometimes, it's easy to see how two words were combined to make a new word with a new meaning. For example, lave-vaisselle (dishwasher) is combined from the verb laver(to wash) and the noun vaisselle(dishes), which is logical. But with other compound nouns, it is harder to guess the meaning of the combined words. For example:
- The word couteau-scie (bread knife) is a combination of two nouns: couteau(knife) and scie(handsaw). It’s a knife with a serrated edge, like a handsaw.
- The word rouge-gorge (robin) comes from the color rouge(red) and the noun gorge(throat). It refers to a bird with a red neck or breast, the robin redbreast.
Additionally, some compound nouns have fused to the point that even native speakers don't always realize they are compound nouns! For example:
Want to learn how to make a compound noun plural? Check out this article:
What Is a Noun Phrase in French?
A locution nominale(noun phrase) is a group of two or more words that, all together, function as a noun in a sentence. Most commonly, these are words that are linked together by a preposition. Here are a few examples of noun phrases:
| French Noun Phrase | English |
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| le champ de blé | the wheatfield |
| le chauffeur de taxi | the taxi driver |
| la machine à café | the coffeemaker |
| la pomme de terre | the potato |
| le sac à dos | the backpack |
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Find out more about noun phrases by checking out this article!
Useful Common Nouns for Beginners in French
Here are 60 useful common nouns for beginners!
10 Essential French Nouns to Talk About People Close to You
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10 Essential French Nouns to Talk About Your Personal Belongings
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10 Essential French Nouns to Talk About Places You Go
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10 Essential French Nouns to Talk About Things in Your Home
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10 Essential French Nouns to Talk About Animals and Nature
| French Noun | English |
|---|---|
| l’arbre | the tree |
| le chat | the cat |
| le cheval | the horse |
| le chien | the dog |
| la fleur | the flower |
| le fleuve | the river |
| le lac | the lake |
| la mer | the sea |
| la montagne | the mountain |
| l’oiseau | the bird |
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10 Essential French Nouns to Talk About Travel
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Are you interested in learning more French nouns? Check out some of our essential vocabulary articles:
I've Learned Some Nouns in French … Now What?
Once you've learned some nouns in French, you can combine them with verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to make beautiful full sentences!
Learn about other verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in French by reading these articles!
