What words are feminine and masculine in French?

Answer 1

One example would be vase.

"Un vase" is a vase, used for holding flowers.

"La vase" is the fine mud found at the bottom of rivers.

This is unusual because the change of gender completely alters the meaning.

The word "eleve" can be masculine or feminine according to the gender of the student concerned, but it is always a student.

Answer 2

all nouns are either a masculine or feminine gender in French.

- some words have specific differences : un chien, une chienne (a dog and she-dog) - un infirmier, une infirmière (a male nurse, a female nurse), un acteur, une actrice (actor, actress)

- some words are used without any change : un professeur, une professeur

- for jobs and occupations where a specific feminine noun didn't exist, the 1990 reform introduced the possibility to 'feminize' the word: un auteur (an author) can now be spelled in the feminine by writing 'une auteure' (though most people still balk at these spellings)

That means that you just have to get acquainted to the noun gender. For example 'la lune' is feminine, and 'le soleil' is a masculine noun.

Answer 3

un chien (male dog or any dog), une chienne (she-dog)