-ée Suffix

Deux poignées de fraises Two handfuls (literally, "fistfuls") of strawberries
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Le suffixe -ée

The French suffix -ée is added to nouns or verbs to make new nouns, which are usually feminine. There are several possible meanings bestowed by the suffix.

1) Duration

There are four pairs of French nouns that distinguish between a simple period of time and the duration or quality of that time period – learn more.

2) ___ful

An amount equivalent to what that noun holds.

 Note that when the original noun ends in -e, that letter is dropped before adding the suffix. A few words have additional, minor spelling changes when suffixed.*

3) Contents

The contents of the original noun, the concept of what it contains or indicates.

4) Noun created from a verb

The addition of the suffix –ée creates a noun that indicates the purpose, action, or result of that verb. Note that the infinitive ending is dropped before the suffix is added:

5) Past participle

The feminine singular past participle of -er verbs:

6) Plant names

Quite a few plant names and plant families end in –ée, though I can’t find a pattern to their creation.

7) Et cetera

There are many other words that end in –ée but don’t follow a pattern; here are just a few examples:**

• une denrée – foodstuff
• un dragée – sugared almond
• une épée – sword
• une fée – fairy
• une marée – tide
• une mosquée – mosque

 * Note the minor spelling changes in the words cuillerée (loses the accent on the penultimate e in cuillère) and maisonnée (n at the end of maison is doubled).

** Still want more?

For a complete list of French words that end in –ée, try the tremendously useful Recherche par critères feature of Le Petit Robert:

 Related lessons

• Feminine noun endings
• Infinitives
• Nouns
• Past participles

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