Making an adjective feminine — eight rules

In one line

An adjective agrees with its noun. The table is ordered — read from the top and take the first row that matches.

The table

Why the order matters: directeur ends in both -eur and -teur. Because row 2 comes first, it gives directrice, not directeuse.

But row 2 needs a test of its own

-teur has two outputs, and the difference is whether there is a verb behind it:

A guide, not a rule: if the t belongs to the verb itself — chanter → chantant → chanteur — it usually gives -teuse. If the word came from Latin and the matching French verb has no t — diriger → dirigeant → directeur — it gives -trice.

But there are exceptions (inventeur → inventrice), so memorise these two columns and use the guide only for a word you have never met.

And the same rule applies to nouns for people

un directeur → une directrice · un infirmier → une infirmière

And to animals — when the male and female matter

un chat → une chatte · un chien → une chienne · un lion → une lionne

But never to objects: an object has no sex, so its gender is fixed and the adjective simply follows it. le livre (book) and la livre (pound) are two separate words, not a masculine and a feminine of the same one. The detail is in genre-nom.

Exceptions

Twelve adjectives that fit no row at all

Three of them have really just doubled their consonant — gros → grosse · violet → violette · gentil → gentille.

The -eur words that give -eure, not -euse

Row 3 is only for "doer" adjectives. Comparative adjectives take a plain e:

The test: if -eur means "somebody who does something" (vendeur, chanteur, trompeur) → -euse. If it is a plain adjective with no doer involved (meilleur, supérieur) → -eure.

And one pronunciation exception, exactly one

In every other pair the sound does not change — a silent consonant simply wakes up.

-at has no rule of its own

Examples

And two adjectives in one sentence — both agree:

Common mistakes

And what that e actually does