Formation of Feminine Adjectives in French

In French, forming feminine adjectives depends on their masculine endings. Here are the main rules:

1. General Rule: Add "-e"

• grand → grande
• joli → jolie

2. Masculine Ending in "-e": No Change

• riche → riche
• sympathique → sympathique

3. Double Final Consonant + "-e"

Masculine	Feminine	Example
-el → -elle	cruel → cruelle
-en → -enne	ancien → ancienne
-on → -onne	bon → bonne
-et → -ette	muet → muette
(Exception: complet → complète)
-s, -l, -t (sometimes)	gros → grosse, gentil → gentille, sot → sotte

4. Specific Changing Endings

Masculine	Feminine	Examples & Exceptions
-f → -ve	neuf → neuve
-x → -se	heureux → heureuse
(Exceptions: doux → douce, faux → fausse, roux → rousse)
-c → -che	blanc → blanche
(or -que: public → publique)
(Exception: sec → sèche)
-g → -gue	long → longue
-er → -ère	cher → chère
-eur → -euse (often from verbs)	rêveur → rêveuse
-eur → -rice (learned/scholarly)	créateur → créatrice
-eur → -eure (comparatives)	meilleur → meilleure, supérieur → supérieure

5. Important Irregulars

Masculine	Feminine
beau (bel) → belle
nouveau (nouvel) → nouvelle
vieux (vieil) → vieille
fou (fol) → folle
mou (mol) → molle
frais → fraîche
malin → maligne

6. Invariable Adjectives

• Noun-based colors: orange, marron (but rose → roses).
• Compound colors: bleu clair.
• Certain words: chic, super, sympa.

Key Takeaway

While feminine forms generally follow set rules, exceptions exist. Always verify feminine forms using our Conjugation and Declension tool.