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A1BeginnerNouns and adjectives · Point 8 / 40

un, une, des, le / la / les

Every noun has a gender: masculine or feminine.

ArticleUseMeaning
unmasculin, première mentionindefinite masculine article, “a/an”
uneféminin, première mentionindefinite feminine article, “a/an”
despluriel, première mentionindefinite plural article, “some”
le / la / leschose connue ou précisedefinite article, “the”

Learn every new word together with its article: “la carte”, “un numéro”. Gender can’t be guessed.

In context

Examples from our dialogues

Lines taken from our dialogues. Listen to them, then open the full dialogue to hear them in a real situation.

Watch out

Common mistakes

Mistakes you will often hear, and the right way to say it.

  • Voici le carte d'assurance maladie.Voici la carte d'assurance maladie.

    “Carte” is feminine: “la carte”, “une carte”. Gender can’t be guessed — learn it with the word.

  • J'ai le rendez-vous demain.J'ai un rendez-vous demain.

    When you mention an appointment for the first time, say “un rendez-vous”. “Le” is for when the other person already knows which appointment you mean.

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Related readings

Short texts where this point comes up. Read them to see it inside a story.