onlydiorstar

[silver seal]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[abstract salmon]

it's more like if there's a silent e

but it's not a hard rule

words like musée, lycée, café which all end in an accented e and are loan words are all masculine

anyways except for some patterns, you really just have to memorize each word with its gender

[ancient depot]

Funniest part about French for real

And until you got these bases covered just use the dictionary and let the others correct you until it gets in

[sour python]

There’s no hard and fast rule, I’m afraid. You can look at masculine and feminine endings but you just have to memorise, unfortunately. Don’t learn words on their own, use the articles. I recommend using the indefinite ones « un colis, un ordinateur, une table, une école » instead the definite ones because they will contract if the noun they’re modifying starts with a vowel. Those same words with the definite article would be « le colis, l’ordinateur, la table, l’école ».
(The blue texts are links, click on them).

[stable gale]

thank you!

[somber herald]

If you encounter a word that doesn't usually take indefinite articles, try using an adjective that has pronounced gender. For example, you might learn "l'eau douce" or "l'eau fraîche"