femelle
/fə.mɛl/feminine
The English word female is translated into French as femelle.
In French, femelle is a noun used to denote one of the feminine sex or gender. It is also used as an adjective meaning belonging to the sex that typically produces eggs or the gender typically associated with it, and it can describe something having an internal socket.
Meaning: one of the feminine sex or gender (noun)
Which one should you use?
The term femelle refers strictly to biological sex, particularly when discussing animals. In contrast, féminin is used to describe grammatical gender or qualities, such as feminine energy. For humans, you should use femme to mean woman rather than using the biological term.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/fə.mɛl/. The word has 2 syllables.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid calling a human woman une femelle, as it is dehumanizing and sounds like you are referring to her as an animal.
Did you know?
- The English word 'female' and the French femelle share a common ancestor in the Latin word 'fēmella', which was a diminutive form of 'femina'.
- In French, animals are assigned a grammatical gender, but femelle is required to specify the biological sex if the species name is naturally masculine.
- In technical fields like electronics and plumbing, femelle describes a connector with a hole or socket, while mâle describes the projecting pin.
Examples in context
- La biche est la femelle du cerf.A doe is a female deer.This example shows how to identify a female deer.Tatoeba #11767638 by lbdx, translation #4717341 by hinto4
- La jument est la femelle du cheval.A mare is a female horse.This example shows how to identify a female horse.Tatoeba #12019485 by lbdx, translation #2535223 by Balamax
- Ce chien est-il un mâle ou une femelle?Is that dog male or female?This example shows how to ask if a dog is male or female.Tatoeba #4585429 by dadidas, translation #68424 by CK
- Marie est une femme remarquable.Marie is an exceptional woman.
- La dame à la conférence était très intelligente.The lady at the conference was very intelligent.
- Cette fille est très sympa.This girl is very nice.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are at a veterinary clinic.
- EmmaEst-ce que votre chat est un mâle ou une femelle ?Is your cat a male or a female?
- HugoC'est une femelle, elle s'appelle Luna.She is a female, her name is Luna.
- EmmaElle a l'air très calme pour une femelle.She seems very calm for a female.
- HugoOui, elle est très douce.Yes, she is very gentle.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “female” translations and entries femelle, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries femelle, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
