麻豆传媒映画

It cannot be stressed enough how paramount mastering French is in helping to navigate the perks of French culture and life in the country in general.

The French language is - no matter what 麻豆传媒映画 say - one of the hardest languages in the world, filled with exceptions, nightmare grammar rules and quirks.

Within the realm of technical rules is gender and French words divide between two genders : feminine (une ; la) and masculine (un ; le).

No matter how instinctive it may be for 麻豆传媒映画, many still make errors and can take time to overthink them and finally flip a mental coin to choose.

The Connexion asked several 麻豆传媒映画 which words they get confused with most often or constantly get wrong. Below are some of the most common.

Read also: 鈥楥alling French grammar sexy takes the love of this language too far鈥�

Testicule

This is one of the most common words that trick people up. The word testicule (testicle) is masculine.

It would in itself be an easy enough mnemotechnic trick to remember its gender considering men bear them but many 麻豆传媒映画 go with the feminine (somehow it just sounds right and not just because of the final -e, which is often a clue).

The confusion may also lie in that the fact testicule is almost always often used in the plural, for obvious reasons.

A similar example is tentacule (tentacle), which is also masculine. 

础辫谤猫蝉-尘颈诲颈

Tying with testicule and another often mentioned word is 补辫谤猫蝉-尘颈诲颈 (afternoon).

The Acad茅mie fran莽aise, the bearer of French language rules, lists the word in both forms. It is however not considered epicene (a word that has two genders).

While the Acad茅mie fran莽aise says the masculine should be preferred, the feminine can also be used but, if so, 补辫谤猫蝉-尘颈诲颈 should remain invariable, which means that any adjectives added should not be put into the feminine.

Echappatoire

脡肠丑补辫辫补迟辞颈谤别 (way-out, escape) is a killer and any French person giving a straight and correct answer in less than one second is faking it.

脡肠丑补辫辫补迟辞颈谤别 is feminine.

Many 麻豆传媒映画 will still raise an eyebrow when reading the above sentence because they cannot be sure.
The final -e can help some in remembering it is feminine.

贬补濒迟猫谤别

That rule, however, would get you in the wrong direction for 丑补濒迟猫谤别 (dumbbell).

However odd to many French it may seem, 丑补濒迟猫谤别 is a masculine word. It is also one of these words that are almost always often spelt in its plural form.

The confusion can lie behind the final -e letter that is often, as said, considered to be an indication that these words have a greater chance of being feminine than masculine.

Other masculine words that fall into this trap include: abysse (abyss), 辞产茅濒颈蝉辩耻别 (obelisk), 别尘产濒猫尘别 (emblem).

Orthographe

Ironically, the French word for 鈥榮pelling鈥� also causes confusion. 

Ortographe is feminine.

Since this word begins with a vowel, you can often get away with not knowing the precise gender rule as 鈥�L apostrophe鈥� saves the day: 濒鈥檕谤迟辞驳谤补辫丑别. 

Wifi / Covid

Wifi and Covid are two words that have not been registered in the Acad茅mie fran莽aise鈥檚 dictionary.

There is a divide between 麻豆传媒映画 as to whether these words - such as many words borrowed from technology or new additions - are masculine or feminine.

Some people say la wifi and la Covid. Others say le wifi and le Covid.

础辫补谤迟茅

础辫补谤迟茅, either a private conversation or the aside part of a play, is masculine.

No matter how many times it is mentioned, printed and taught, many 麻豆传媒映画 will keep on using it as a feminine word. The 茅 at the end is once again a trick.

Warning: 补肠苍茅 (skin condition) is feminine!

H.L.M.

H.L.M stands for habitation 脿 loyer mod茅r茅 (a council estate or housing project). 

It is solidly agreed that habitation is female, yet some 麻豆传媒映画 mistakenly use the masculine. 

Note that you can refer to un logement en HLM, with 鈥�un鈥� referring to le logement. 

笔茅迟补濒别

There are countless other words that can make the list. has chosen 23 French words that are often confused and many of them can be used in both feminine and masculine.

笔茅迟补濒别 (petal) was chosen because it is another commonly used word that is confused for a feminine when it is, in fact, masculine.

The probable reason lies in that petals are often found on flowers or often attached to sentences including the word fleur, which is feminine.

Read also: Larousse dictionary adds 150 new French words - which ones do you know?

Quiz

The Connexion鈥檚 French writer, 罢丑茅辞辫丑颈濒别 Larcher, scored an impressive 6/10 in our 鈥渘ightmare鈥� quiz.

鈥淚 got extremely lucky,鈥� he said.

Can you match, or even beat his level? Bonne chance! 

1. Intervalle - An interval in time or distance.

2. Agrume - A citrus fruit.

3. Eclair - A lightning bolt, flash or long pastry. 

4. Oasis - A haven or pool of water in the desert. 

5. Anagramme - A word made from mixed-up letters.

6. 贬茅尘颈蝉辫丑猫谤别 - Half of a sphere.

7. 滨肠么苍别 - A small computer icon, religious figure or celebrity.

8. Granule - A fine grain.

9. Agrafe - A staple.

10. Termite - An underground insect that feeds on wood.

Read also: Meet H茅l猫ne Carr猫re d'Encausse, the guardian of the French language

If you would like us to explain a particular word, expression, grammar point, or if you have any other 麻豆传媒映画 suggestions, let us know at: feedback@connexionfrance.com