Some French nouns have different meanings depending on whether they're masculine or feminine

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2023-11-30

Some French nouns can have both genders (masculine and feminine). Depending on the gender used, they can mean different things.

Learn about French nouns that can be masculine and feminine

Look at these examples:

J'aime le livre de Paul.I like Paul's book.

Cette boîte pèse une livre.This box weighs a pound.

Nous avons fait le tour du musée.We did the tour of the museum.
We went around the museum.

Il admire la Tour Eiffel.He admires the Eiffel Tower.

J'adore la mode!I love fashion!

Ils préfèrent le mode automatique.They prefer the automatic setting / mode.

Il m'a offert le poste.He offered me the (job) position.

Elle va à la poste.She's going to the post office.

In some cases, some very common nouns change their meaning when their gender changes.

This is actually due to the fact that these two identical words often have completely different origins, and that the evolution of language coincidentally made them look the same.

Here's a list of more of these nouns:
Nouns changing meaning depending on gender

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Examples and resources

le/la livre