Opposite Gender List: Masculine and Feminine of Nouns

Q: What is the masculine of queen?

The masculine of queen is king. Queen is the feminine gender and king is the masculine gender, so together they form a gender pair.

Q: What is the feminine gender of king?

The feminine gender of king is queen. King is masculine and queen is feminine.

Q: What is the common gender of king and queen?

The common gender word for king and queen is monarch. You can also use ruler or sovereign. A common gender noun is one word that can refer to either a male or a female.

Q: What are the 4 genders of nouns?

The four genders are masculine (a male, such as king), feminine (a female, such as queen), common (either male or female, such as teacher) and neuter (anything that is not a person or an animal, such as desk or tree).

Q: What is the gender of desk?

The gender of desk is neuter. A desk is not a person or an animal, so it is neither male nor female. Chair, table, book and stone are also neuter.

Q: What is the masculine of countess?

The masculine of countess is count. An earl is also paired with countess in British titles.

Q: What is the masculine gender of countess?

The masculine gender of countess is count. In British titles an earl is also paired with a countess, so earl can be used as well.

Q: What is the opposite gender of countess?

The opposite gender of countess is count. Countess is the feminine word and count is the masculine word, so they form a gender pair.

Q: What is the opposite gender of count?

The opposite gender of count is countess. Count is masculine and countess is feminine.

The complete gender list, with over 100 noun pairs and the four genders explained in plain English. Search any word to find its pair in seconds.

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Quick answers

The masculine gender of countess is count. The opposite gender of count is countess. The opposite gender of queen is king, and the feminine of king is queen. The common gender word for king and queen is monarch, and for prince and princess it is royal. The gender of desk is neuter, because a desk is not a person or an animal. The four genders of nouns are masculine, feminine, common and neuter.

Note: "opposite gender" means the same thing as the masculine or feminine pair of a noun. The opposite gender of a masculine word is its feminine word, and the opposite gender of a feminine word is its masculine word.

The 4 genders of nouns

Every noun in English belongs to one of four genders. Once you know these four, every question about gender becomes easy to answer.

1. Masculine gender

Names a male person or a male animal.

king, boy, lion, uncle, actor

2. Feminine gender

Names a female person or a female animal.

queen, girl, lioness, aunt, actress

3. Common gender

Can name either a male or a female. The word alone does not tell you which.

teacher, doctor, friend, monarch, cousin

4. Neuter gender

Names anything that is not a person or an animal: an object, a place, a plant or an idea. It is neither male nor female.

desk, book, city, tree, idea

The quickest way to tell them apart

Step 1. Ask: is it a person or an animal? If the answer is no, the noun is neuter. A desk, a city, an idea and a tree are all neuter.

Step 2. If it is a person or an animal, ask: is it a male or a female? Male is masculine. Female is feminine. If it could be either, it is common.

But a tree is alive! Yes, a tree is alive. It grows, and it drinks water. But a tree is not a person and it is not an animal, so it is neuter. Flowers, grass and seeds are the same. Being alive is not the test. Being a person or an animal is the test.

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Full opposite gender list: masculine and feminine nouns

All 104 opposite gender pairs, grouped by topic. Each masculine word is shown beside its feminine word. Use the search box at the top of the page to jump straight to any word.

Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
People: family and daily life
father	mother	widower	widow
son	daughter	landlord	landlady
brother	sister	host	hostess
uncle	aunt	stepfather	stepmother
nephew	niece	stepson	stepdaughter
grandfather	grandmother	godfather	godmother
grandson	granddaughter	husband	wife
boy	girl	lad	lass
man	woman	bachelor	spinster
gentleman	lady	nobleman	noblewoman
sir	madam	schoolboy	schoolgirl
master	mistress	papa	mama
bridegroom	bride
Royalty, titles and rank
king	queen	czar	czarina
prince	princess	marquis	marchioness
emperor	empress	knight	dame
count	countess	heir	heiress
duke	duchess	sultan	sultana
baron	baroness	hero	heroine
earl	countess	mayor	mayoress
lord	lady
Work and professions
actor	actress	manservant	maidservant
waiter	waitress	policeman	policewoman
steward	stewardess	fisherman	fisherwoman
manager	manageress	chairman	chairwoman
hunter	huntress	spokesman	spokeswoman
poet	poetess	businessman	businesswoman
author	authoress	barman	barmaid
conductor	conductress	monk	nun
instructor	instructress	priest	priestess
tailor	tailoress	god	goddess
salesman	saleswoman	prophet	prophetess
postman	postwoman	benefactor	benefactress
milkman	milkmaid	proprietor	proprietress
shepherd	shepherdess	traitor	traitress
washerman	washerwoman	founder	foundress
headmaster	headmistress	governor	governess
wizard	witch	director	directress
giant	giantess	protector	protectress
Animals and birds
lion	lioness	hart	hind
tiger	tigress	boar	sow
leopard	leopardess	fox	vixen
bull	cow	dog-fox	vixen
ox	cow	wolf	she-wolf
dog	bitch	bear	she-bear
cock	hen	bull-elephant	cow-elephant
drake	duck	peacock	peahen
gander	goose	tom-cat	she-cat
stallion	mare	bullock	heifer
colt	filly	billy-goat	nanny-goat
ram	ewe	buck-hare	doe-hare
buck	doe	cob (swan)	pen (swan)
stag	hind	tiercel (male falcon)	falcon (female falcon)

Elephant and hare on their own can mean a male or a female, so they are common gender. Bull-elephant and buck-hare name the male. Cob and pen are the male and female swan. A tiercel is a male falcon, and bird keepers call the female simply a falcon. A hart is an old word for a stag, so its partner is also a hind.

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Common gender nouns

These nouns can name a male or a female. One word covers both, so there is no separate masculine or feminine form. This is why a word like bird or parrot has no pair.

adult artist athlete baby bat (animal) bird camel captain child citizen clerk client companion cook cousin crow customer dancer deer doctor dolphin driver eagle elephant employee enemy engineer fish friend guard guest guide hare infant insect judge lawyer leader learner listener member minister monarch monkey musician neighbour (US: neighbor) novelist nurse orphan ostrich owl owner painter parent parrot passenger penguin person photographer pigeon pilot player president pupil rabbit reader relative reporter ruler (person) scientist secretary servant sibling singer snake soldier sovereign sparrow speaker spider spouse stranger student teacher teenager thief tourist typist visitor worker writer

Neuter gender nouns

These name things that are not people or animals: objects, places, plants and ideas. This is why the gender of desk is neuter. Some of these words name living things, like tree, flower and grass. They are alive, but they are not people or animals, so they are neuter too.

aeroplane (US: airplane) airport apple backpack bag ball basket bat (cricket) bed bicycle blanket board boat book bottle bowl box branch bread bridge broom brush bucket bus butter button car carpet castle cave chair chalk cheese city clock cloud coat comb computer crayon cup cupboard curtain desert desk desk-lamp door drawer dream dress drum duster earth engine eraser factory fence field file fire floor flower flute folder forest fork fridge fruit game garden gate glass glove grass hammer hat hill honey hospital house ice idea island kettle key kite knife ladder lamp lane leaf letter library lightning map market milk mirror moon motorbike mountain museum nail notebook office oven palace pan paper path pavement pen (for writing) pencil phone piano picture pillow plate poem pot puzzle rain rice riddle ring river road rock rocket roof root ruler (for lines) salt scarf school sea seed sentence sharpener shelf ship shirt shoe shop sink skirt sky snow soap sock sofa song spoon star station stone storm story stove street sugar sun table tap thunder tie towel tower town toy train tree truck tunnel tyre (US: tire) uniform valley village wall water wheel wind window word

Same spelling, different gender

A few words appear in two lists because they have two meanings. The meaning decides the gender.

ruler: A ruler who rules a country is a person, and a king or a queen can both be one, so this ruler is common gender. A ruler you draw lines with is a thing, so that ruler is neuter.

pen: A pen you write with is a thing, so it is neuter. A pen is also a female swan, so that pen is feminine. The male swan is a cob.

bat: A cricket bat is a thing, so it is neuter. A bat that flies is an animal that can be male or female, so it is common gender.

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The 4 rules for forming the feminine

Most feminine nouns are made in one of four ways. Learn these and you can work out pairs you have never seen before.

Rule 1. Add "ess" to the masculine word.
host becomes hostess, author becomes authoress, giant becomes giantess.

Rule 2. Change the ending, often "or" or "er" to "ress".
actor becomes actress, waiter becomes waitress, tiger becomes tigress.

Rule 3. Use a completely different word.
king becomes queen, boy becomes girl, bull becomes cow, ram becomes ewe.

Rule 4. Add a word in front of or behind the noun.
wolf becomes she-wolf, bull-elephant becomes cow-elephant, manservant becomes maidservant.

Words that trip students up

Some nouns look like a pair but are not. "Guest" stays "guest" for both. "Cousin", "friend", "teacher", "doctor", "student" and "baby" are all common gender, so one word covers both. And remember that neuter nouns like desk, chair, table and river have no masculine or feminine form at all, because they are not people or animals.

Quick gender quiz

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Frequently asked questions

What is the masculine of queen?▼

The masculine of queen is king. Queen is the feminine gender and king is the masculine gender, so together they form a gender pair.

What is the feminine gender of king?▼

The feminine gender of king is queen. King is masculine and queen is feminine.

What is the common gender of king and queen?▼

The common gender word for king and queen is monarch. You can also use ruler or sovereign. A common gender noun is one word that can refer to either a male or a female.

What are the 4 genders of nouns?▼

The four genders are masculine (a male, such as king), feminine (a female, such as queen), common (either male or female, such as teacher) and neuter (anything that is not a person or an animal, such as desk or tree).

What is the gender of desk?▼

The gender of desk is neuter. A desk is not a person or an animal, so it is neither male nor female. Chair, table, book and stone are also neuter.

Why is a tree neuter if it is alive?▼

A tree is alive. It grows, and it drinks water. But a tree is not a person and it is not an animal, so tree is neuter. Masculine, feminine and common are only for people and animals. Everything else is neuter, alive or not: objects, places, ideas and plants. Flower, grass, leaf and seed are neuter for the same reason.

What is the masculine of countess?▼

The masculine of countess is count. An earl is also paired with countess in British titles.

What is the masculine gender of countess?▼

The masculine gender of countess is count. In British titles an earl is also paired with a countess, so earl can be used as well.

What is the opposite gender of countess?▼

The opposite gender of countess is count. Countess is the feminine word and count is the masculine word, so they form a gender pair.

What is the opposite gender of count?▼

The opposite gender of count is countess. Count is masculine and countess is feminine.

What is the opposite gender of queen?▼

The opposite gender of queen is king. Queen is the feminine word and king is the masculine word.

What is the common gender of prince and princess?▼

The common gender word for prince and princess is royal. You can also say heir, because a common gender noun can refer to either a male or a female.

What does "opposite gender" mean in grammar?▼

Opposite gender means the matching masculine or feminine form of a noun. The opposite gender of a masculine noun is its feminine noun, and the opposite gender of a feminine noun is its masculine noun. For example, the opposite gender of king is queen.

Is teacher masculine or feminine?▼

Teacher is common gender. The word can refer to a man or a woman, so it is not masculine or feminine on its own.

More practice

Gender Nouns Worksheet with Answers Gender Nouns Lesson All Noun Worksheets What is a Noun Reading Comprehensions

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