Template:fr-noun/documentation

This template is used for the headword line of French nouns. It uses Module:fr-headword as a back-end.

It should be used just under the 'Noun' header for French words. For example, on chien:

===Noun===
{{fr-noun|m|f=+}}

This template contains the necessary meta-data to allow users who are using accelerated editing to create any grammatical forms semi-automatically.

Quick reference

Page	Example and outcome	Comment
femme (“woman”)	{{fr-noun|f}}, {{fr-noun|f|+}}	Basic usage, with default plural (which is usually correct). The plural code + explicitly requests the default.
	femme f (plural femmes)
journaliste (“journalist”)	{{fr-noun|mfbysense}}	Basic usage of a term that can be either masculine or feminine (depending on the semantic sense).
	journaliste m or f by sense (plural journalistes)
bail (“lease (contract)”)	{{fr-noun|m|baux}}	Noun with an irregular plural.
	bail m (plural baux)
bar-tabac (“bar or café that sells tobacco”)	{{fr-noun|m|bars-tabacs|+}}	Noun with multiple plurals, one that does not follow the default algorithm (which just adds s in this case) and one that does. The plural code + explicitly requests the default.
	bar-tabac m (plural bars-tabacs or bar-tabacs)
œil (“eye; glyph; eye (of a needle)”)	{{fr-noun|m|yeux|pqual=in the anatomical sense|+|pqual2=glyph or eye of a needle}}	Noun with multiple plurals according to different senses of the word. We use qualifiers to indicate this.
	œil m (plural (in the anatomical sense) yeux or (glyph or eye of a needle) œils)
faire-part (“announcement”)	{{fr-noun|m|#}}	Invariable noun (plural same as singular). Note how the individual components of hypenated compounds are automatically linked.
	faire-part m (plural faire-part)
force de l’âge (“prime of life”)	{{fr-noun|f|-}}	Singular-only noun (uncountable). Note how the individual components (including l’) are automatically linked.
	force de l’âge f (uncountable)
force majeure (“force majeure”)	{{fr-noun|f|-|+}}	Noun that is usually uncountable, but sometimes has a plural. Multiword expressions are pluralized according to an intelligent algorithm; here, both parts are pluralized.
	force majeure f (usually uncountable, plural forces majeures)
coming out (“coming out (of the closet)”)	{{fr-noun|m|#|nolinkhead=1}}	Invariable noun where the individual parts aren't French words and shouldn't be linked.
	coming out m (plural coming out)
premier ministre (“prime minister”)	{{fr-noun|m|f=+}}	Multiword expression with a feminine form requested using the default algorithm (which in this case converts both words to the feminine). As with force majeure above, the default pluralization algorithm pluralizes both words.
	premier ministre m (plural premiers ministres, feminine première ministre)
témoin (“witness”)	{{fr-noun|m|f=témoignesse|fqual=rare |f2=témouine|fqual2=nonstandard}}	Noun with two feminine forms, neither of which are standard; we indicate this using qualifiers.
	témoin m (plural témoins, feminine (rare) témoignesse or (nonstandard) témouine)
corde à sauter (“jump rope”)	{{fr-noun|f|~}}	Noun that can be either countable or uncountable depending on the meaning ("jump rope" as an item for play, or "jump rope" as an activity). By default, a plural is generated, and the default algorithm pluralizes only the portion before a preposition, correctly producing cordes à sauter.
	corde à sauter f (countable and uncountable, plural cordes à sauter)
adresse e-mail (“e-mail address”)	{{fr-noun|f|+first}}	Multiword expression where the default plural (which would be adresses e-mails) is incorrect. Here we request that only the first word be pluralized.
	adresse e-mail f (plural adresses e-mail)
accident vasculaire cérébral (“stroke (medicine)”)	{{fr-noun|m|+each}}	Another multiword expression where the default plural (which pluralizes the first and last words) is incorrect. Here we request that all words be pluralized. Note that the default plural of words in -al ends in -aux.
	accident vasculaire cérébral m (plural accidents vasculaires cérébraux)

Multiword expressions

Multiword expressions use an intelligent algorithm to form the feminine and the plural. Specifically, if a known preposition is seen, the algorithm forms the feminine or plural only of the preceding word; otherwise, it forms the feminine or plural of the first and last word of the expression. (If multiple words precede a preposition, the algorithm forms the feminine or plural of the first and last such word.) The recognized prepositions are:

• à, au, aux
• de, du, des, d’
• en, dans
• sous, sur
• avec
• pour, par
• contre
• sans
• comme
• jusqu’

Note that all prepositions must be preceded by a space to be recognized, and all except d’ and jusqu’ must be followed by a space.

An example is attaché de presse (“press secretary”):

{{fr-noun|m|f=+}}

which produces

attaché de presse m (plural attachés de presse, feminine attachée de presse)

Note how the word attaché before the preposition de is inflected automatically according to the default rules.

An example without a preposition is baleine bleue (“blue whale”):

{{fr-noun|f}}

which produces

baleine bleue f (plural baleines bleues)

Here, the first and last word (i.e. both words, as there are only two) are inflected according to the default rules.

Some multiword terms inflect differently from the above rules. Use +SPEC to specify which word or words inflect in a multiword term:

• Use +first if only the first word inflects.
• Use +last if only the last word inflects.
• Use +first-last if the first and last word inflect.
• Use +each if all words inflect.
• Use +first-second if the first and second words inflect.
• Use +second if only the second word inflects.

Examples:

For assistant numérique personnel (“personal digital assistant”), use +each:

{{fr-noun|m|+each}}

which produces

assistant numérique personnel m (plural assistants numériques personnels)

For station essence (“gas station, petrol station”), use +first:

{{fr-noun|f|+first}}

which produces

station essence f (plural stations essence)

An example using such a spec for the feminine is mal élevé (“ill-mannered person, rascal”):

{{fr-noun|m|+last|f=+last}}

which produces

mal élevé m (plural mal élevés, feminine mal élevée)

In this case, an alternative which is shorter is to use s for the plural and e for the feminine:

{{fr-noun|m|s|f=e}}

which produces

mal élevé m (plural mal élevés, feminine mal élevée)

Parameters

|head=; |head2=; ...

The head word(s), if different from the page name, or to link to individual words. Note that the default behavior with multiword and multipart pronouns is to split the pronoun intelligently and link the individual parts (see below), so this isn't normally needed.

|1= (or |g=); |g2=; ...

The gender(s), which should be one of m, f, mf (gender can be either masculine or feminine), mfbysense (gender can be either masculine or feminine according to the natural gender of the word; categorizes into Category:French masculine and feminine nouns by sense), m-p, f-p, mf-p, mfbysense-p.

|2=; |3=; |4=; ...

The plural forms, if the noun is not already plural (as indicated in the gender). Some shortcuts can be used:

• +: explicitly request the default plural.
• +first, +last, etc.: specify how to pluralize multiword terms. See #Multiword expressions above.
• #: if the plural is the same as the singular.
• s or x: if the plural is formed by adding s or x.

If no plural forms are given, the first plural is formed according to default rules (see below). The first plural can also have some special values:

• -: if the noun is uncountable. The second and higher plural parameters can still be given, and indicate that the noun is usually uncountable, but can sometimes be pluralized.
• ~: if the noun can be either countable or uncountable, depending on meaning. The countable plural(s) should be specified using the second and higher plural parameters; if not given, the default is the same as for countable nouns.
• !: if the plural is not attested.
• ?: if you don't know the plural or are not sure if it even has a plural.

|pqual=; |pqual2=; ...

Qualifiers for the plurals; useful if different plurals have different uses (e.g. for different meanings of the word) or different connotations (e.g. some may be rare, some nonstandard, etc.). |pqual= corresponds to the first plural (specified by |2=); |pqual2= to the second plural (specified by |3=); etc.

|f=; |f2=; ...

Feminine equivalent noun(s), if any. Some shortcuts can be used:

• +: request the default feminine (see below).
• +first, +last, etc.: specify how to form the feminine of multiword terms. See #Multiword expressions above.
• #: if the feminine is the same as the masculine (but in this case, it's better to use a gender of mfbysense instead).
• e: if the feminine is formed by adding e (particularly in the default feminine would generate something else).

|fqual=; |fqual2=; ...

Qualifiers for the feminines; useful if different feminines have different uses or connotations.

|m=; |m2=; ...

Masculine equivalent noun(s), if any.

|mqual=; |mqual2=; ...

Qualifiers for the masculines; useful if different masculines have different uses or connotations.

|dim=; |dim2=; ...

Diminutive equivalent(s), if any.

|dimqual=; |dimqual2=; ...

Qualifiers for the diminutives; useful if different diminutives have different uses or connotations.

|nolinkhead=1

Don't link individual words in the headword of a multiword term. Useful for foreign terms like a posteriori and top model where the expression functions as a whole in French but the individual parts are not French words.

|splithyph=1

Indicate that automatic splitting and linking of words should split on hyphens in multiword expressions with spaces in them (splitting on hyphens is automatic if there are no spaces in the term). See below and Module:fr-headword.

Suffixes

If the term begins with a hyphen (-), it is assumed to be a suffix rather than a base form, and is categorized into Category:French suffixes and Category:French noun-forming suffixes rather than Category:French nouns.

Autosplitting

The template uses an intelligent algorithm to split and link words in multiword expressions. Individual words of a multiword expression like tout le monde will be linked, as will individual words in a hyphenated expression like avant-avant-hier and parts of words with apostrophes in them, like n’importe quoi (linked as [[n']][[importe]] [[quoi]]). See Module:fr-headword for more details.

Rules for forming the default feminine

ending	feminine
-e	-e
-en	-enne
-er	-ère
-el	-elle
-et	-ette
-on	-onne
-if	-ive
-ieur	-ieure
-teur	-trice
other -eur	-euse
-eux	-euse
-c	-que
-eau	-elle
other	add -e

Rules for forming the default plural

ending	plural
-s	-s
-x	-x
-z	-z
-au (including -eau)	-aux
-al	-aux
other	add -s