Comment savoir si c'est Masculin ou Féminin en Français? 5 Astuces Très Utiles pour le savoir!!

Summary

This video offers five tips to determine the gender of French names, often tricky due to exceptions. The first tip focuses on the letter 'E', typically marking feminine nouns. Second, natural gender is used for words like 'aunt' and 'uncle'. Third, categorization helps, with shop and car brands often feminine, while days, months, and seasons are masculine. Fourth, specific noun endings suggest gender, with -ISME, -MENT, and -AGE masculine, and -TÉ, -ION, and -ESSE feminine. Lastly, an exercise invites viewers to guess the gender of plural nouns and other tricky names, with answers provided in the comments.

Takeaways

• 📚 The letter 'E' often indicates a feminine noun in French, but there are exceptions like 'Mexico' and 'Japan'.
• 🐓 Natural gender is a clue to noun gender in French; words referring to women are feminine, and those to men are masculine.
• 🏪 Names of shops and car brands are usually feminine, while days of the week, months, and seasons are masculine.
• 📜 Masculine nouns often end in -ISME, -ASME, -MENT, -AGE, -PHONE, -AT, -ÂT, -SCOPE, -TEUR, -AL, and sounds like -EAU, -AU, -AUD, -O, -OT, -ARD, -ART, -ARE, -AR.
• 🌺 Feminine nouns often end in -TÉ, -TÉE, -ION, -EUR (for non-human nouns), -OI, -OIE, -OIX, -ESSE, -ASSE, -ETTE, -OTTE, -ELLE, -ENCE, -ANCE, -AISE, -ISE, -ADE, -UDE.
• 🚫 Names ending in -EUR typically do not have an additional 'E' at the end, even if they are feminine, except for some exceptions like 'an hour'.
• 🍇 Fruits and vegetables that end with the letter 'E' are likely to be feminine, but there are exceptions like 'grape'.
• 🏷️ Masculine nouns can also end with sounds that include [aʁ], written as -ARD, -ART, -ARE, -AR, like 'fox'.
• 📚 The script suggests that learning these patterns can help determine the gender of most French nouns, but acknowledges that exceptions exist.
• 🎲 The video includes an exercise game for viewers to practice identifying the gender of various French nouns.
• 📝 A PDF document with a more comprehensive list of noun endings and examples is provided for further study.

Q & A

What is the general rule for determining if a French name is masculine or feminine based on the letter 'E'?

The general rule is that if a French name ends with the letter 'E', it is more likely to be feminine.

Are there exceptions to the rule that names ending in 'E' are feminine in French?

Yes, there are exceptions. For example, Mexico ends with 'E' but is masculine, and Japan and Canada do not end with 'E' but are masculine.

What is a specific note about names ending in '-EUR' in French?

Names ending in '-EUR' usually do not take an 'E' at the end, even if they are feminine, with some exceptions like 'an hour' which ends with an 'E'.

How does the 'natural kind' trick help in determining the gender of names referring to people and animals?

The 'natural kind' trick associates words that refer to women or female animals with the feminine gender and words that refer to men or male animals with the masculine gender.

What categories of names are usually feminine in French, according to the video?

Shops, car brands, and stores are usually feminine names in French.

What categories of names are usually masculine in French, according to the video?

Days of the week, months of the year, letters of the alphabet, seasons, trees, and colors are usually masculine names in French.

What are some common masculine noun endings in French that can help in determining the gender of a name?

Masculine nouns in French often end in -ISME, -ASME, -MENT, -AGE, -PHONE, -AT, -ÂT, -SCOPE, -TEUR, -AL, -EAU, -AU, -AUD, -O, -OT, -ARD, -ART, -ARE, -AR.

What are some common feminine noun endings in French that can help in determining the gender of a name?

Feminine nouns in French often end in -TÉ, -TÉE, -ION, -EUR (for jobs, not people), -OI, -OIE, -OIX, -ESSE, -ASSE, -ETTE, -OTTE, -ELLE, -ENCE, -ANCE, -AISE, -ISE, -ADE, -UDE.

What is the purpose of the exercise game at the end of the video?

The exercise game is designed to test the viewer's understanding of the tips provided in the video for determining the gender of French names.

Where can viewers find a more complete list of the tips and examples mentioned in the video?

Viewers can find a more complete list of tips and examples in the PDF document that is linked in the video description.

What are some examples of nouns that are difficult to determine gender due to their plural form?

Examples of such nouns include 'toilets', 'sales', 'lentils', and 'spaghetti', where the gender is not immediately clear from the singular form.

How can viewers participate in the exercise game mentioned in the video?

Viewers can participate by commenting their answers to the provided names in the comments section of the video.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Understanding Masculine and Feminine in French

In this introductory segment, the speaker addresses the challenge of identifying masculine and feminine nouns in French. They promise to share five tips for distinguishing gender, followed by an exercise. The first tip focuses on the letter 'E', noting that words ending in 'E' are typically feminine. However, exceptions like 'Mexique' (masculine) are acknowledged. Examples from countries, fruits, and vegetables illustrate this rule. A note on '-EUR' endings clarifies that despite being feminine, they usually don't end in 'E'.

05:02

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Natural Gender and Categorizing Nouns

The second tip involves using natural gender, especially for animals and people. Words referring to females (e.g., aunt, niece, grandmother) are feminine, while those for males (e.g., uncle, nephew) are masculine. This also applies to animals like rooster (masculine) and hen (feminine). The third tip introduces categorizing nouns: stores and car brands are generally feminine (e.g., a Porsche, a butcher). Days of the week, months, letters, seasons, trees, and colors are usually masculine.

Keywords

💡Masculine

Masculine refers to the gender typically associated with male characteristics or entities. In the context of the video, masculine is used to categorize French nouns that are grammatically male. For example, the video mentions that 'Japan' and 'Canada' are masculine despite not ending in 'E', which is a common but not absolute indicator of feminine nouns in French.

💡Feminine

Feminine is the gender associated with female characteristics or entities. In the video, feminine is used to describe French nouns that are grammatically female. The script explains that words ending with the letter 'E' are more likely to be feminine, as illustrated with the examples of countries like 'France' and 'Italy'.

💡Letter E

The letter 'E' is highlighted in the video as a common indicator of feminine gender in French nouns. It is noted that while this is a general rule, there are exceptions, such as 'Mexico' which ends in 'E' but is masculine. The letter 'E' is fundamental in French for denoting feminine nouns, although the video also points out that names ending in '-EUR' are an exception to this rule.

💡Natural Gender

Natural gender in the video refers to the inherent biological sex of a living being, which is used to infer the grammatical gender of nouns related to those beings. For instance, 'aunt' and 'niece' are words that refer to female family members and are therefore feminine, aligning with the natural gender of the individuals they represent.

💡Categories of Names

Categories of names in the video refer to the classification of nouns based on certain themes or types, such as shop names or car brands. The script mentions that these categories often have gender implications in French, with shop names and car brands typically being feminine, while days of the week and months are masculine.

💡Endings

In the context of the video, endings refer to the final letters or sounds of a word that can indicate its grammatical gender in French. The video provides lists of common endings for masculine and feminine nouns, such as '-isme' for masculine and '-ette' for feminine, and explains how these endings can help determine the gender of nouns.

💡Exceptions

Exceptions in the video denote instances where the general rules for determining the gender of French nouns do not apply. The script points out several exceptions, such as 'Mexico' being masculine despite ending in 'E', and '-EUR' names not always taking an 'E' at the end even if they are feminine.

💡Exercise Game

The exercise game mentioned in the video is an interactive component designed to test the viewer's understanding of the rules for determining the gender of French nouns. It involves the presenter providing a list of nouns and the viewer determining whether each noun is masculine or feminine, based on the rules explained in the video.

💡PDF Document

The PDF document referenced in the video is a supplementary material that provides a more comprehensive list of the rules and examples discussed in the video. It is intended to serve as a resource for viewers to deepen their understanding of French noun gender determination.

💡Plural Nouns

Plural nouns in the video are highlighted as a special case in the exercise game, where the gender of the noun in the plural form can be particularly challenging to determine. The script uses examples like 'toilets' and 'sales' to illustrate this difficulty.

💡Contextual Usage

Contextual usage in the video refers to how the gender of a noun can be influenced by the context in which it is used. For instance, while certain endings or letters might suggest a noun is masculine or feminine, the actual usage in sentences or specific phrases can sometimes alter this, as seen with the exceptions provided in the script.

Highlights

The letter 'E' is fundamental in French and often marks the feminine gender.

Words ending in 'E' are more likely to be feminine, but there are exceptions like Japan and Canada.

Names ending in -EUR don't usually take 'E' at the end, even if they are feminine, with some exceptions.

The natural gender rule applies well to animals and people, with words referring to women being feminine.

Words referring to men are generally masculine, such as uncle, nephew, and rooster.

Shops and car brands are usually associated with female names, while days of the week and months are masculine.

The alphabet letters, seasons, trees, and colors are typically masculine names.

Nouns ending in -ISME or -ASME are generally masculine, like 'fantasy'.

Nouns ending in -MENT, -AGE, -PHONE, -AT, -ÂT, -SCOPE, -TEUR, -AL are typically masculine.

Nouns ending with the sound [o], such as -EAU, -AU, -AUD, -O, -OT, are often masculine.

Nouns ending with the sound [aʁ], like -ARD, -ART, -ARE, -AR, are generally masculine.

Feminine nouns often end in -TÉ, -TÉE, -ION, -EUR (for jobs, not people), -OI, -OIE, -OIX.

Names ending in -ESSE or -ASSE, -ETTE or -OTTE, -ELLE are typically feminine.

Names ending in -ENCE or -ANCE, -AISE or -ISE, -ADE or -UDE are generally feminine.

The video will include an exercise game to test the viewer's understanding of masculine and feminine names.

Examples of nouns that are often used in the plural and are difficult to determine gender will be discussed.

The video concludes with a call to action to participate in the exercise and engage with the content.

Transcripts

Good morning. So, it’s really not always easy to know

if a name is masculine or feminine in French.

In this video, I will explain five tips

that will allow you to know almost every time if a name is masculine or feminine.

At the end of the video, we’re going to do a little exercise game,

so stay well until the end of the video, and we’re going to start.

First tip, the famous letter E.

As you probably know, this letter is fundamental in French.

And in addition, the letter E marks the feminine in French.

So it’s a general rule,

but for example if you don’t know if a word is masculine or feminine,

well if it ends with the letter E, it’s much more likely to be feminine.

It’s very general. So let’s see, for example, with, I don’t know, a group of words like countries.

So, the countries, we have France, it’s very feminine;

Italy finishes in E, it’s very feminine;

Spain is very feminine, Okay?

But we have Japan. Look, it’s masculine and it doesn’t end with the letter E.

Canada, masculine.

So yes, there are exceptions, for example we have Mexico,

it ends with the letter E, and yet it’s masculine,

but it works pretty well.

Let’s see with fruits and vegetables: carrot, cherry, strawberry…

all that end with the letter E.

But we’re going to say grape, and you see that it doesn’t end in E.

So that’s it, it’s general, but it doesn’t work too bad.

So just a small note:

names that end in -EUR don’t usually take E at the end, even if they are feminine.

Let’s say, for example, fear (P-E-U-R).

There are exceptions here too, such as “an hour” ending with an E, okay?

But in general, words in -EUR end in E-U-R, even if they are feminine.

Second trick. Well, let’s use what’s called the natural kind.

So it works very well for animals and people, for example.

So let’s say we have a word like Aunt and Uncle, okay?

So the aunt is my father’s sister for instance, and the uncle is my father’s brother.

Okay, so we can see that the aunt is a natural gender, that is to say, she’s a woman.

So, all those words that are going to refer to a woman, they’re going to be feminine;

And the words that are going to refer to a man, they’re going to be masculine.

So we’re going to say: aunt, niece, grandmother, and so on;

And we’re going to say: uncle, nephew, and so on.

So, it’s the same thing for animals, we’re going to say: rooster and we’re going to say hen.

We’ll also say woman, man, female, male, and so on.

Third tip: categories of names.

So what does that mean?

Well, we can sort the names into some categories.

For example, shops, car brands.

Stores and car brands, usually, are female names.

We’ll say, for example, a Porsche, a Mercedes, a Volkswagen, a BMW, a limousine, and so on.

So, for stores too, we’ll say, for example, a butcher, a deli store,

a grocery store, and so on.

So I’ll leave you a more complete list, okay,

in the PDF that will accompany this video.

I leave you the link in the description, and you will be able to download this PDF.

So, for male names, we have, like, days of the week, okay?

We say Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on.

The months of the year: January, February, and so on, are masculine.

We also have the letters of the alphabet,

for example the letter R, we say the R ; The letter M, we say the M.

We also have the seasons: spring, autumn, winter, it’s all masculine.

We got the trees, too, okay? We say a chestnut tree, and so on.

And finally we also have the colors, okay? Blue, red, green.

So fourth tip, let’s start by looking at the endings

that are usually the endings of masculine nouns.

So there’s a short list, the same, I’ll leave it to you in the PDF document, okay?

Let us see that list right away.

So in general, nouns are masculine if they end in -ISME or -ASME.

Like a fantasy. I’ll leave you some examples in the PDF file.

They are also masculine if they end in -MENT, for example a monument

or -AGE, for example a sarcophagus

or -PHONE, for example a telephone

or -AT or -ÂT. Like a cat.

Or -SCOPE, for example telescope.

Or -TEUR, for example a liar.

Or -AL, for example a jackal.

Or with the sound [o]. So it can be written: -EAU, -AU, -AUD, -O or -OT.

Like a coat.

Or with the sound [aʁ], which can be written -ARD, -ART, -ARE, -AR.

Like a fox.

Now let’s look at the endings of the nouns that are usually feminine.

So if a word ends with those endings, it’s probably feminine.

-TÉ, so T -E acute accent or T- E acute accent with an E (-TÉE).

Rarely, female names in TÉ usually end with a T-E acute accent,

but some exceptions also take an E, for example a climb.

Names in -ION. Like an addition.

Names in -EUR.

But be careful, not for people, as for example jobs,

for jobs it’s different.

Like fear.

Names that end with the sound [wa]. So for example -OI, -OIE, -OIX.

Like a goose.

Names ending in -ESSE or -ASSE. Like a princess.

And also names that end in -ETTE or -OTTE. Like a lollipop.

Names that end in -ELLE. For example, mirabelle.

Names that end in -ENCE or -ANCE [ɑ̃s]. For example, gasoline.

Names ending in -AISE or -ISE, [ɛz] or [iz]. For example, a chair.

Names ending in -ADE or -UDE, [ad] [yd]. For example, a grenade.

So, now it’s time to play our game.

I’m going to give you some names,

and you’re going to have to tell me in the comments if they’re masculine or feminine.

So I’m going to offer you two categories of nouns,

first of all, those that are very often used in the plural.

And they are particularly difficult, because you say sales, for example,

and you never know if it’s masculine or feminine

There will also be other styles of names

that are particularly difficult for another reason,

but I won’t tell you more.

So here we go.

The toilets. Masculine or feminine?

Sales. Masculine or feminine ?

The lentils.

Spaghetti.

And now three more names:

afternoon,

interview

and love.

And we’ll end with that romantic word.

So you put the answers in the comments,

and I’ll also put the correction in the comments, of course.

Thank you for watching this video. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel

and don’t forget to put a thumb up if you liked this video.

Remember that you have two free courses,

you can sign up for free, so enjoy it,

and we’ll meet again next week.

Thank you, goodbye.