How do you form the feminine of a French adjective ending in -eur?

If the adjective is built on a verb, the feminine is -euse: trompeur gives trompeuse, flatteur gives flatteuse. If it derives from a noun or a Latin form, it's -trice: créateur gives créatrice, protecteur gives protectrice.

Why is it une actrice and not une acteuse?

Because acteur comes from a Latin noun rather than from a French verb. The -trice ending goes with that history, and the same applies to directrice, traductrice, and institutrice.

Which adjectives take -ète instead of -ette?

A short list: complet, incomplet, concret, discret, indiscret, inquiet, replet, and secret. Everything else in -et doubles the t, as in muette, cadette, and coquette.

Is une professeure correct?

Yes. Both une professeure and the older une professeur are found, and la prof is what most people actually say. The feminine forms of professions were formally accepted by the Académie française in 2019 and had been standard in Quebec long before.

Do nouns and adjectives follow the same feminine rules?

Almost always, because they're built from the same word-formation patterns. Un veuf and une veuve match actif and active; un patron and une patronne match bon and bonne. The exceptions are the pairs that are separate words, like homme and femme.

French grammar · Intermediate

Irregular Feminine Forms in French: Nouns and Adjectives, Ending by Ending

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

When a French noun or adjective doesn't just add -e for the feminine, the change is almost always predictable from its ending. -eur becomes -euse or -trice, -er becomes -ère, -f becomes -ve, -x becomes -se, and -en, -on, -el, and -et double their consonant.

L'actrice principale est une ancienne danseuse italienne.

The lead actress is a former Italian dancer.

What it is

Nouns and adjectives are built the same way in French, so they form their feminines the same way too. A word ending in -eur, -er, -f, -x, -en, -on, -el, or -et will not simply take an -e; it transforms, and the transformation depends only on those last letters, not on what the word means.

un chanteur / une chanteuse ; un acteur / une actrice ; sportif / sportive. — a singer ; an actor ; sporty.

How to spot it

Ignore the word and look at its ending. Vendeur and menteur both give -euse; directeur and traducteur both give -trice; actif and créatif both give -ve. The pattern holds across nouns and adjectives alike.

un vendeur, une vendeuse — a salesman, a saleswoman
un directeur, une directrice — a director (m.), a director (f.)
un boulanger, une boulangère — a baker (m.), a baker (f.)
un musicien, une musicienne — a musician (m.), a musician (f.)

The feminine form usually pronounces a consonant the masculine hides. Musicien ends on a nasal vowel; musicienne ends on an n.

Nouns and Adjectives Irregular Feminine Forms Quick Reference

The endings and what they become

Masculine ending	Feminine	Noun example	Adjective example
-eur (from a verb)	-euse	un menteur / une menteuse	trompeur / trompeuse
-teur (from a noun)	-trice	un acteur / une actrice	créateur / créatrice
-er	-ère	un fermier / une fermière	cher / chère
-f	-ve	un veuf / une veuve	actif / active
-x	-se	un époux / une épouse	heureux / heureuse
-en / -on	-enne / -onne	un patron / une patronne	italien / italienne
-el / -eil	-elle / -eille	un professionnel / une professionnelle	naturel / naturelle
-et	-ette or -ète	un cadet / une cadette	complet / complète

Common Nouns and Adjectives Irregular Feminine Forms Examples in French

The families, with nouns and adjectives side by side:

-eur and -teur

un serveur, une serveuse: a waiter, a waitress
un traducteur, une traductrice: a translator (m.), a translator (f.)
une remarque flatteuse: a flattering remark
une décision protectrice: a protective decision

The test is whether a related verb exists. Servir gives serveur and serveuse; traduction gives traducteur and traductrice.

-er, -f, and -x

une infirmière expérimentée: an experienced nurse
une équipe sportive: a sporty team
une épouse jalouse: a jealous wife
une réponse brève: a brief answer

Bref is the one -f adjective that also takes an accent: bref becomes brève.

Doubled Consonants

une championne italienne: an Italian champion (f.)
une patronne exigeante: a demanding boss (f.)
une lumière naturelle: natural light
une vieille chienne: an old dog (f.)

Doubling undoes the nasal vowel: patron rhymes with rond, patronne does not.

Words With No Masculine Relative

un homme, une femme: a man, a woman
un roi, une reine: a king, a queen
un neveu, une nièce: a nephew, a niece
un oncle, une tante: an uncle, an aunt

These aren't irregular forms at all, strictly speaking: they're separate words that happen to pair up.

How the Feminine Transformations Work

Every pattern here is doing one of two jobs: reviving a silent consonant, or keeping a vowel from changing quality.

-eur Splits Two Ways

If the word comes from a verb, the feminine is -euse: vendre gives vendeur and vendeuse. If it comes from a noun or a Latin form, it's -trice: direction gives directeur and directrice. There's also a small set in -eresse, as in un enchanteur, une enchanteresse.

une chanteuse et une actrice

a singer and an actress

Verb behind it → -euse. Noun behind it → -trice.

-er Takes a Grave Accent

Adding -e to -er would leave an unpronounceable sequence, so the e before the r opens and takes an accent: boulanger gives boulangère, cher gives chère, léger gives légère.

une valise légère et une étagère entière

a light suitcase and a whole shelf

-er → -ère.

-f Becomes -ve and -x Becomes -se

French won't put a voiceless consonant next to a voiced ending, so f becomes v and x becomes s. Neuf gives neuve, sportif gives sportive, époux gives épouse, heureux gives heureuse.

une voiture neuve et une maison heureuse

a brand-new car and a happy home

f → v, x → s.

Nasal Endings Double Their Consonant

In italien and patron the n is nasalising the vowel rather than being pronounced. Doubling it gives the consonant back its own sound and un-nasalises the vowel: italienne, patronne.

une équipe canadienne

a Canadian team

-en → -enne, -on → -onne.

-et Goes Two Ways

Most -et words double the t: muet gives muette, cadet gives cadette. A short list takes a grave accent instead: complet gives complète, secret gives secrète, inquiet gives inquiète, discret gives discrète.

une liste complète et une réponse discrète

a complete list and a discreet answer

-ette by default, -ète for a handful.

Common Mistakes with Nouns and Adjectives Irregular Feminine Forms

Incorrect: une acteuse célèbre — a famous actress

Correct: une actrice célèbre — a famous actress

Acteur takes -trice, not -euse. The -euse ending belongs to words built directly on a verb, and there is no verb acter behind acteur.

Incorrect: une femme sportif — a sporty woman

Correct: une femme sportive — a sporty woman

The final f has to become v before the feminine -e. Adding -e to -f gives a spelling that French never uses.

Incorrect: une amie italiene — an Italian friend

Correct: une amie italienne — an Italian friend

Adjectives in -en double the n in the feminine. One n would leave the vowel nasal, which is exactly what the feminine form is meant to undo.

Incorrect: une liste complette — a complete list

Correct: une liste complète — a complete list

Complet belongs to the small group that takes a grave accent instead of doubling: complète, secrète, discrète, inquiète. Doubling the t is the default and the wrong choice here.

Job Titles and the Newer Feminine Forms

Professions are where this topic is still moving. Several nouns that had no feminine form fifty years ago have one now, and usage differs between France, Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Professions that gained a feminine

Words like auteur, professeur, and écrivain were long used for women as well as men. Modern usage has settled on feminine forms, though more than one is often accepted, and Canadian French adopted them earlier than French from France.

une autrice ou une auteure: a female author (both are used)
une professeure de physique: a physics teacher (f.)
une écrivaine reconnue: a well-known writer (f.)
une chercheuse en biologie: a researcher in biology (f.)

The Académie française accepted these forms in 2019, some decades after they had become normal in Quebec.

Titles that keep the masculine article

A few formal titles are still treated as fixed masculine nouns, with madame in front doing the gender work. This usage is receding but you'll meet it in official language.

Madame le Maire: Madam Mayor (traditional)
Madame la Maire: Madam Mayor (now standard)
Madame la Ministre: Madam Minister

Where two forms compete, the one with the feminine article is now the recommended choice in France as well as in Canada.

Nouns of one gender for either sex

Some nouns simply don't vary. Une personne and une victime are always feminine, and un médecin was long always masculine. The person's own gender doesn't change the article.

une personne intéressante: an interesting person (of any gender)
La victime était un homme.: The victim was a man.
un mannequin très connu: a very well-known model

Adjectives still agree with the noun's grammatical gender, not with the person: cette personne est intelligente, even of a man.

Nouns and Adjectives Irregular Feminine Forms FAQs

How do you form the feminine of a French adjective ending in -eur?: If the adjective is built on a verb, the feminine is -euse: trompeur gives trompeuse, flatteur gives flatteuse. If it derives from a noun or a Latin form, it's -trice: créateur gives créatrice, protecteur gives protectrice.
Why is it une actrice and not une acteuse?: Because acteur comes from a Latin noun rather than from a French verb. The -trice ending goes with that history, and the same applies to directrice, traductrice, and institutrice.
Which adjectives take -ète instead of -ette?: A short list: complet, incomplet, concret, discret, indiscret, inquiet, replet, and secret. Everything else in -et doubles the t, as in muette, cadette, and coquette.
Is une professeure correct?: Yes. Both une professeure and the older une professeur are found, and la prof is what most people actually say. The feminine forms of professions were formally accepted by the Académie française in 2019 and had been standard in Quebec long before.
Do nouns and adjectives follow the same feminine rules?: Almost always, because they're built from the same word-formation patterns. Un veuf and une veuve match actif and active; un patron and une patronne match bon and bonne. The exceptions are the pairs that are separate words, like homme and femme.