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Noms Ă double genre
One of the first – and possibly worst – things French students learn is that all nouns have a gender, either masculine or feminine. The good news is more than 100* can be either – though they may tend toward one gender or the other.
Français | English | Notes |
accore | shore | prop or beam used as support |
achélem | public housing | see HLM, below |
acmé | acme, peak | |
after | after party | usually masculine |
alvéole | alveolus, cell | usually feminine |
amazone | Amazon parrot | |
ammodyte | sand viper | |
après-midi aprèm, aprème |
afternoon | apocopes |
aréna, arena | arena | Canadian term |
autoroute | highway | |
avant-guerre | pre-war years | |
azalée | azalea | |
balane | acorn barnacle | |
baston | fight, punch-up | familiar |
bilig billig |
crĂŞpe maker | appliance |
break breakdance break dance break danse |
break dancing | |
butternut | butternut squash | aka le doubeurre |
calzone | calzone | |
carpocapse | codling moth | |
chaintre | headland | agricultural term |
chistéra chistera |
wicker basket | in the Basque game pelote |
coca | coca plant | |
cola | cola nut | |
country | country music | |
COVID-19 | COVID-19 | AcadĂ©mie française says it’s feminine, but most native speakers say le COVID-19 |
enzyme | enzyme | |
éphémère | ephemera, mayfly | |
fétuque | fescue | type of grass |
flammekueche | tarte flambĂ©e | Alsatian speciality: white “pizza” with a very thin crust |
flashmob | flash mob | |
folk | folk music | |
goulache goulasch goulash |
goulash | Hungarian speciality: beef stew with paprika |
happy end | happy ending | franglais at its finest |
harissa | harissa | North African speciality: spicy red pepper sauce |
harmonique | harmonic, overtone | |
HLM H.L.M. |
public housing | abbreviation of Habitation à loyer modéré, so feminine is preferred |
holding | holding company | |
hymne | hymn | religious song |
imago | imago | imaginal stage of an insect’s metamorphosis |
interview | interview | |
jaque | jackfruit | |
jet-set jet set |
jet set | |
joint-venture | joint venture | |
kalachnikov | Kalachnikov | |
kola | cola nut | |
laccolithe | laccolith, laccolite | geographical formation |
laque | lacquer | |
limule | limulus | horseshoe crab |
livédo livedo |
livedo | certain skin discoloration |
manucure | manicure | |
manzanilla | manzanilla | very dry white wine, usually feminine |
margarita | margarita | tequila-based cocktail |
météorite | meterorite | |
mirepoix | mirepoix | mixture of celery, onion, and carrots |
moufle | pulley block | |
nymphée | nymphaeum | ancient monument |
oasis | oasis | usually feminine |
ordonnance | regulation | it’s only unisex for this specific meaning |
palabre | palaver | discussion |
parka | parka | |
perce-neige | snowdrop | winter flower |
photomaton | photo booth | |
poiscaille | fish | informal |
poliste | paper wasp | |
pop | pop music | |
quadrille | quadrille | dancing |
quatre-épices | allspice | |
quatre-quatre | jeep, 4×4 | |
réglisse | liquorice | |
relâche | rest | |
salomé | T-bar sandal | |
schappe | waste silk | |
semi-remorque | semi(-trailer truck), articulated lorry | |
sex-shop sexe-shop |
sex shop | |
shot | shot | alcohol; generally (m) in France, (f) in Canada. |
squatine | angelfish | |
statice | sea lavender | |
stévia | stevia | natural sweetener |
stout | stout | dark beer |
synopsis | movie plot outline | |
tachine | tachina fly | |
tennis | tennis shoe | |
thermos | Thermos | |
vérétille | veretillum |  bioluminescent species |
zydeco | zydeco music |
* According to Le Grand Robert numérique Version 4.1, there are 173 such terms, many of which are very rare, technical, or scientific. For the complete list, use advanced search:
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