Unisex French Nouns - Lawless French Grammar


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Noms à 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	crêpe 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	Académie française says (f), but most native speakers say le COVID-19

enzyme	enzyme
éphémère	ephemera, mayfly

fétuque	fescue	type of grass
flammekueche	tarte flambée	Alsatian speciality: white “pizza” with 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 (f) 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

réclâme	rest, respite, break
réglisse	liquorice
relâche	rest, break

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: