Transformer masculin en féminin

The main rules

The basic rule

We add a silent “e” at the end of the masculine noun to turn it into the feminine. You must as well change the masculine article always for its feminine version.

For example:
Un ami et une amie → A friend.
Un avocat et une avocate → A lawyer.

When the masculine noun ends with an “e.”

When the masculine noun ends with an “e,” the masculine and the feminine nouns will be spelled and pronounced the same. You must change the masculine article for its feminine version. 

For example:
Un journaliste et une journaliste → A journalist.

When the masculine noun ends with an “é.”

When the masculine noun ends with an “é,” add a silent “e” to have the feminine. The masculine and the feminine will be pronounced the same. You must change the masculine article for its feminine version.

For example:
Un employé et une employée → An employee.

The exceptions

We have 10 irregular endings that don’t follow the main rules. If a masculine noun ends with one of the endings listed below and strictly those, follow this:

Masculine	Feminine	Example
El	Elle	Un criminel/une criminelle
En	Enne	Un lycéen/une lycéenne
Er	Ère	Un boucher/une bouchère
Et	Ette	Un muet/une muette
Eur	Euse	Un vendeur/une vendeuse
Ien	Ienne	Un chien/une chienne
Ier	Ière	Un écolier/une écolière
If	Ive	Un sportif/une sportive
On	Onne	Un lion/une lionne
Teur	Trice	Un directeur/une directrice

The irregular ones

Some nouns will have an irregular feminine form. Unfortunately, there are no rules to help you.

For example:
Un maître → Une maîtresse → A primary school teacher/ A master.
Un hôte → Une hôtesse → An host.
Un ingénieur → Une ingénieure → An engineer.
Un chanteur → Une chanteuse → A singer.