When to use -ien / -ienne?

The -ien / -ienne ending is a common pattern in French to form masculine and feminine nouns or adjectives, especially for professions, nationalities, or descriptive words.

When to use -ien / -ienne?

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1. Nouns/adjectives ending in -ien (masculine) usually form the feminine by changing -ien to -ienne

This applies to many professions, nationalities, and adjectives.

The feminine adds an extra -ne and doubles the n:

-ien → -ienne

Examples:

Masculine Feminine Meaning

informaticien informaticienne computer scientist / IT specialist

musicien musicienne musician

technicien technicienne technician

policier policière police officer (note accent change)

magicien magicienne magician

Parisien Parisienne person from Paris

Canadien Canadienne Canadian

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2. General rule for spelling change

When the masculine ends in -ien, the feminine form is created by adding -ne and doubling the n to maintain the pronunciation:

Masculine: [iɛn] sound

Feminine: [jɛn] sound (with the double n making the vowel before it short)

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3. Exceptions and irregularities

Some words may have exceptions, but the -ien/-ienne pattern is very consistent.

Some adjectives follow the same pattern (like ancien / ancienne).

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Summary:

Masculine Ending Feminine Ending Rule

-ien -ienne Double the n, add e