Gender by ending

Every French noun is either masculine (un, le) or feminine (une, la), even when it names a thing. The ending is often the best clue:

• Masculine: -age, -ment, -eau, -isme, -oir, -ier, -et, -phone (un voyage, un moment, un cadeau, un miroir, un billet)
• Feminine: -tion/-sion, -té, -ure, -ette, -ence/-ance, -ie, -ade, -ude (une question, une qualité, une voiture, une chance, une habitude)

These patterns cover most nouns, but not all: la plage, la peau and le silence break them (see the next lesson). Learn each new noun with un or une, because le and la both become l' before a vowel or a silent h (l'habitude, l'appartement) and then hide the gender.