How to Learn French Noun Gender with Flashcards

The reliable way to learn whether a French noun is masculine or feminine is to learn the gender with the noun, on the same flashcard, from the first time you see it. Learn une table, not table. Patterns help you guess, but every one of them has exceptions.

Put the gender on the card

The simplest version is to write the article on the front: un acteur, une année. Some decks mark gender on the back instead; Essential French shows (m) or (f) with the IPA for every noun. Either works, as long as you say the article out loud every time you review.

Patterns that help

Some endings are strong predictors:

Each has well-known exceptions: la page, la plage and l'image are feminine despite -age; l'eau is feminine despite -eau. So use the patterns to guess, and the card to be sure.

Use le/la, not l'

L' hides the gender before a vowel: l'année doesn't tell you it's feminine. For nouns starting with a vowel, learn the indefinite article instead: une année, un hôtel.

Gender shows up everywhere else

The gender of a noun decides the article, the ending of adjectives (un grand acteur, une grande actrice) and some past participles. Getting it right on the noun saves you from errors in the rest of the sentence. See 100 essential French words with gender.