French Steps - Pronunciation - Adjectives

Pronouncing adjectives

You can usually tell if an adjective is masculine or feminine by listening closely.

-ais and -aise endings

When these adjectives are feminine the final 's' is pronounced like a 'z':

Masculine	Feminine
français	française
anglais	anglaise
irlandais	irlandaise
gallois	galloise

-ain and -ien endings

When these adjectives are feminine you hear the 'en' sound very distinctly:

Masculine	Feminine
italien	italienne
parisien	parisienne
américain	américaine
londonien	londonienne