une Française
The phrase "a french woman" in French is une Française.
The term refers to a woman who is a citizen of France or comes from France.
Which one should you use?
There is a grammatical distinction between using the word as a noun and as an adjective. When used as a noun to refer to a person (a French woman), the nationality is capitalized in French (Française), whereas the adjective (une femme française) is not.
Did you know?
- Despite the capitalization rule for nouns, some modern French writers and activists use a 'neutral' or 'inclusive' writing style that avoids the gendered ending of Française entirely.
- The word Française ends in a silent 'e' that serves a crucial phonetic purpose: it ensures the 's' is pronounced as a 'z' sound. Without that final 'e', the word would be Français, where the 's' is silent.
- The word une is derived from the Latin ūna, which is the feminine form of ūnus, the root of the English word 'unit'.
Examples in context
- Excusez-moi, madame, êtes-vous une Française ?Excuse me, madam, are you a French woman?
- C'est une Française.She is a French woman.
- Je connais une Française qui habite ici.I know a French woman who lives here.
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are talking about a new colleague.
- EmmaQui est la nouvelle collègue ?Who is the new colleague?
- LucasC'est une Française, elle s'appelle Sophie.She is a French woman, her name is Sophie.
- EmmaEst-ce qu'elle parle bien anglais ?Does she speak English well?
- LucasOui, elle parle parfaitement.Yes, she speaks perfectly.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries une, CC BY-SA 4.0.
