French Compound Nouns - Gender - Les noms composés et le genre

French compound nouns are made up of two or more words often connected by hyphens. Figuring out their gender can be a little tricky; however, the majority of compound nouns are masculine, so when in doubt you can always fall back on that. But of course it's better to know the gender of the words you're using, so here are some rules that can help you to determine the gender of compound nouns.

I. Noun + noun
Gender matches that of the primary (more important) noun

un chou-fleur
     cauliflower

un oiseau-mouche
     hummingbird

une station-service
     service station

une pause-café
     coffee break


II. Adjective, adverb, preposition, or verb + noun
Gender matches that of the noun

un après-midi*
     afternoon

un coffre-fort
     safe

un couvre-lit
     bedspread

un gratte-ciel
     skyscraper

un haut-parleur
     loudspeaker

un pour-cent
     percent

une chauve-souris
     bat

une demi-heure**
     half hour

une grand-mère**
     grandmother

*Après-midi can also be feminine, probably because a famous writer or two made the mistake and the Académie didn't dare correct them. :-)

**Note that the adjectives are invariable


III. Adjective + adjective
Gender matches that of the adjectives

un sourd-muet
     deaf mute

une douce-amère
     bittersweet, woody nightshade


IV. Exceptions to above

un brise-glace
     ice breaker

un en-tête
     heading

un garde-pêche
     fish [and game] warden

un porte-monnaie
     wallet, coin purse

un rouge-gorge
     robin

un tête-à-tête
     private conversation


V. The prefix mi-
Nearly always feminine

la mi-janvier
     mid-January

la mi-été
     mid-summer

la mi-temps
     (sports) half-time

One exception: la mi-temps follows the rule and means "half-time" in sports. But there's also le mi-temps, meaning "part-time work." (More dual-gender French nouns)


VI. Other combinations (adverb + past participle or verb; verb + verb)
Usually masculine

un nouveau-né
     newborn

un bien-aimé
     beloved

un laissez-passer
     pass

le va-et-vient
     comings and goings


More: Plurals of compound nouns

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