In French, many professions have both a masculine and a feminine form, reflecting the gender of the person holding the job. This is somewhat different from English, where the same word is typically used regardless of the person’s gender. Let’s look at some examples to understand how this works.
Examples :
- la traducteur, la traductrice
- le vendeur, la vendeuse
- le policier, la policière
- le boulanger, la boulangère
- le professeur, la professeur
- l’avocat, l’avocate
For instance, the word for a male teacher in French is “professeur” and for a female teacher, it’s “professeure”. Similarly, a male cook is called a “cuisinier” while a female cook is referred to as “cuisinière”. These examples show how the endings of the words change to indicate the gender of the individual.
However, there are also many professions in French where the same word is used for both males and females. For example, the word “médecin” means a doctor for both genders. Another example is “journaliste”, which means a journalist whether the person is male or female.
Examples :
- le journaliste, la journaliste
- le médecin, la médecin,
- le pianiste, la pianiste
- le militaire, la militaire
List of professional activity names in French that vary in gender between masculine and feminine forms.
| FRENCH ( masculine ) | FRENCH ( féminine ) | API | ENGLISH |
| agriculteur | agricultrice | [agʀikultœʀ, agʀikultʀis] | farmer |
| artisan | artisane | [aʀtizɑ̃, aʀtizɑ̃n] | craft worker |
| assistant | assistante | [asistɑ̃, asistɑ̃t ] | assistant |
| auteur | autrice | [otœʀ, otʀis] | author |
| avocat | avocate | [avɔka, avɔkat] | lawyer |
| boulanger | boulangère | [bulɑ̃ʒe, bulɑ̃ʒɛʀ] | baker |
| caissier | caissière | [kesje, kesjɛʀ] | cashier, checker |
| chauffeur | chauffeuse | [ʃofœʀ, ʃoføz] | driver |
| acteur | actrice | [aktœʀ, aktʀis] | actor |
| concierge | concièrge | [kɔ̃sjɛʀʒ] | caretaker |
| consultant | consultante | [kɔ̃syltɑ̃, kɔ̃syltɑ̃t] | consultant |
| créateur | créatrice | [kʀeatœʀ, kʀeatʀis] | designer, creator |
| cuisinier | cuisinière | [kɥizinje, kɥizinjɛʀ] | cook |
| danseur | danseuse | [dɑ̃sœʀ, dɑ̃søz] | dancer |
| directeur | directrice | [diʀɛktœʀ, diʀɛktʀis] | managern head |
| enseignant | enseignante | [ɑ̃sɛɲɑ̃ – ɑ̃sɛɲɑ̃t] | teacher |
| entrepreneur | entrepreneuse | [ɑ̃tʀəpʀənœʀ, ɑ̃tʀəpʀənøz] | buziness(wo)man |
| entraîneur | entraîneuse | [ɑ̃tʀenœʀ, ɑ̃tʀenøz] | trainer |
| esthéticien | esthéticienne | [ɛstetisjɛ̃, ɛstetisjɛn] | beautician |
| formateur | formatrice | [fɔʀmatœʀ, fɔʀmatʀis] | trainer |
| gérant | gérante | [ʒeʀɑ̃, ʒeʀɑ̃t] | manager |
| illustrateur | illustratrice | [ilystʀatœʀ, ilystʀatʀis] | illustrator |
| infirmier | infirmière | [ɛ̃fiʀmje, ɛ̃fiʀmjɛʀ] | nurse |
| influenceur | influenceuse | [ɛ̃flyɑ̃sœʀ, ɛ̃flyɑ̃søz] | influencer |
| jardinier | jardinière | [ʒaʀdinje, ʒaʀdinjɛʀ] | gardener |
| masseur | masseuse | [masœʀ, masøz] | masseur |
| médecin | médecin | [med(ə)sɛ̃] | doctor |
| musicien | musicienne | [myzisjɛ̃, myzisjɛn] | musician |
| ouvrier agricole | ouvrière agricole | [uvʀije, uvʀijɛʀ agʀikɔl] | farm worker |
| pâtissier | pâtissière | [pɑtisje, pɑtisjɛʀ] | pastrycook, confectioner |
| policier | policière | [polisje, polisjɛʀ] | police officer |
| pompier | pompière | [pɔ̃pje, pɔ̃pjɛʀ] | firefighter |
| réalisateur | réalisatrice | [ʀealizatœʀ, ʀealizatʀis] | film director |
| serveur | serveuse | [sɛʀvœʀ, sɛʀvøz] | waiter, barman |
| sportif | sportive | [spɔʀtif, spɔʀtiv] | sport(wo)man |
| traducteur | traductrice | [tʀadyktœʀ, tʀadyktʀis] | translator |
| vendeur | vendeuse | [vɑ̃dœʀ, vɑ̃døz] | shop assistant |
| voleur | voleuse | [volœʀ, voløz] | thief |
List of occupation in French that are the same in both masculine and feminine forms.
| FRENCH ( masculine ) | FRENCH ( féminine ) | API | ENGLISH |
| architecte | architecte | [aʀʃitɛkt] | architect |
| comptable | comptable | [kɔ̃tabl] | accountant |
| contremaître | contremaître | [kɔ̃tʀəmɛtʀ] | fore(wo)man |
| géographe | géographe | [ʒeɔgʀaf] | geographer |
| graphiste | graphiste | [gʀafist] | graphic designer |
| guide | guide | [gid] | guide |
| journaliste | journaliste | [ʒuʀnalist] | journalist |
| libraire | libraire | [libʀɛʀ] | bookseller |
| manutentionnaire | manutentionnaire | [manytɑ̃sjɔnɛʀ] | packer |
| médecin | médecin | [med(ə)sɛ̃] | doctor |
| pirate | pirate | [piʀat] | pirate |
| psychologue | psychologue | [psikɔlɔg] | psychologist |
| militaire | militaire | [militɛʀ] | soldier |
List of professions in French whose spelling differs between masculine and feminine forms, but whose pronunciation is the same.
| FRENCH ( masculine ) | FRENCH ( féminine ) | API | ENGLISH |
| ingénieur | ingénieure | [ɛ̃ʒenjœʀ] | engineer |
| professeur de guitare | professeure de guitare | [pʀɔfesœʀdəgitaʀ] | guitar instructor |
