What is the difference between le and la in French?

Le is the masculine definite article and la is the feminine definite article. Both contract to l' before a vowel or silent h.

Are all French words ending in -tion feminine?

Yes. Words ending in -tion, -sion, and -ation are almost always feminine in French: la nation, la décision, la situation.

Is this French gender checker free?

Yes, completely free. No account, no subscription required.

French Gender Checker

Type any French noun — instantly see if it's masculin or féminin, with the correct article, plural, and the suffix rule behind it. Free to use, no login required.

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Type a French noun above to discover its gender.

Test yourself on tricky nouns

Common Suffix Patterns

-tion / -sion

la nation, la décision, la situation, la passion

-ité / -té

la liberté, la qualité, la société, la beauté

-eur (abstract)

la douleur, la valeur, la chaleur, la peur

-ure

la voiture, la culture, la nature, la blessure

-ance / -ence

la chance, la présence, la distance, la patience

-eau

le château, le bateau, le manteau, le tableau

-ment

le moment, le gouvernement, le sentiment, le mouvement

-eur (agent)

le docteur, le directeur, le vendeur, le serveur

-age

le voyage, le mariage, le village, le langage

-isme

le tourisme, le romantisme, le journalisme

Writing editor

French Gender Checker — Is It Le or La?

The FrenchWrite French gender checker tells you whether any French noun is masculine or feminine — and shows the correct article (le / la / l'), indefinite article (un / une), plural form, and the suffix rule behind the result. Type any noun above and the answer appears instantly. Covers over 40,000 French nouns including irregular exceptions such as le problème, le musée and le silence. Built for DELF, DALF, TCF and TEF candidates who need to avoid article and adjective agreement errors in written production. For a full walkthrough, read the French Gender Checker guide.

Key Features

Instant gender result — type any French noun and see whether it is masculin or féminin, with the correct definite article (le / la / l') and indefinite article (un / une)

Plural form — every result includes the plural, so you can verify whether a noun takes -s, -aux or another irregular plural form

Suffix rule explanation — each result shows the ending pattern that determines the gender, so you learn the rule rather than memorising one word at a time

Gender quiz mode — practice mode presents common nouns one by one and asks you to guess le or la; targets tricky exception words that frequently appear in DELF and DALF tasks

40,000+ nouns — the database covers A1–C2 vocabulary including high-frequency irregular exceptions that trip up advanced learners

Private — all lookups run locally in your browser; nothing you type is sent to a server

How It Works

Type any French noun. Enter a noun in the search box above — without the article — for example chien, liberté, problème. Or tap one of the quick-access chips to try a common noun.

Read the result. The result card shows the gender, the definite article, the indefinite article, the plural form, and the suffix rule that explains why this noun has that gender.

Use the suffix rule. The rule explanation tells you which ending determines the gender. Memorising these patterns lets you guess correctly for new vocabulary you encounter in reading.

Practice with the gender quiz. Click Start gender quiz to test yourself on tricky nouns one by one. The quiz targets common exception words that learners frequently get wrong.

Continue writing. Once you know the correct article, return to the FrenchWrite writing editor with the right form for your sentence. Use the verb conjugator to check your verb forms in the same session.

Suffix Rules: How to Guess French Gender

About 80% of French nouns follow predictable suffix patterns. Memorise these and you will guess correctly most of the time:

Suffix	Gender	Examples
-tion, -sion, -ation	Féminin	la nation, la décision
-ité, -té	Féminin	la liberté, la qualité
-ance, -ence	Féminin	la chance, la présence
-ure	Féminin	la voiture, la culture
-eur (abstract)	Féminin	la douleur, la valeur
-eau	Masculin	le château, le bateau
-ment	Masculin	le moment, le sentiment
-age	Masculin	le voyage, le village
-isme	Masculin	le tourisme, le journalisme
-eur (agent/person)	Masculin	le directeur, le vendeur

Suffix

Gender

Examples

-tion, -sion, -ation

Féminin

la nation, la décision

-ité, -té

Féminin

la liberté, la qualité

-ance, -ence

Féminin

la chance, la présence

-ure

Féminin

la voiture, la culture

-eur (abstract)

Féminin

la douleur, la valeur

-eau

Masculin

le château, le bateau

-ment

Masculin

le moment, le sentiment

-age

Masculin

le voyage, le village

-isme

Masculin

le tourisme, le journalisme

-eur (agent/person)

Masculin

le directeur, le vendeur

Common Tricky Words (Exceptions to Know)

These high-frequency words trip up even advanced learners because they look like they should be the other gender:

Word	Gender	Why it trips people up
le problème	Masculin	Ends in -e, which often signals féminin
le musée	Masculin	Ends in -ée, but not féminin like la journée
le silence	Masculin	Ends in -ence, usually féminin
la mer	Féminin	Sounds like le maire (mayor)
la main	Féminin	Body parts ending in consonants often look masculin
l'amour	Masculin	Ends in -eur, which is often féminin (abstract)
le lycée	Masculin	-ée ending looks féminin
la foi	Féminin	Short monosyllables are hard to predict

Word

Gender

Why it trips people up

le problème

Masculin

Ends in -e, which often signals féminin

le musée

Masculin

Ends in -ée, but not féminin like la journée

le silence

Masculin

Ends in -ence, usually féminin

la mer

Féminin

Sounds like le maire (mayor)

la main

Féminin

Body parts ending in consonants often look masculin

l'amour

Masculin

Ends in -eur, which is often féminin (abstract)

le lycée

Masculin

-ée ending looks féminin

la foi

Féminin

Short monosyllables are hard to predict

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a French word is masculine or feminine?

The most reliable method is to learn words with their article from the start (always say le chien, not just chien). When you don't know, use the suffix rules — they're correct about 80–99% of the time depending on the ending. This tool gives you the answer instantly and shows you the rule behind it.

What is the difference between le, la, l' and les?

Le is the masculine definite article, la is feminine. Both become l' before a vowel or silent h (l'ami, l'heure). Les is the plural for both genders.

Are all words ending in -e feminine?

No — this is one of the most common mistakes. Words like le problème, le musée, le lycée, le silence, le sourire all end in -e but are masculine. The -e ending alone is not a reliable gender indicator.

Why does gender matter for DELF and DALF?

French grammar requires gender agreement across articles, adjectives, and past participles. For example: la robe blanche (not blanc), elle est arrivée (not arrivé). Examiners mark specifically for these agreement errors, so knowing gender is directly tied to your score.

Is this tool free and private?

Yes, completely free. All lookups run locally in your browser — no data is sent to any server.

FrenchWrite – French Gender Checker

French Gender Checker

Common Suffix Patterns