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It cannot be stressed enough how paramount mastering French is in helping to navigate the perks of French culture and life in the country in general. The French language is - no matter what

French people say - one of the hardest languages in the world, filled with exceptions, nightmare grammar rules and quirks. Within the realm of technical rules is gender and French words

divide between two genders : feminine (une ; la) and masculine (un ; le). No matter how instinctive it may be for French people, many still make errors and can take time to overthink them

and finally flip a mental coin to choose. The Connexion asked several French people which words they get confused with most often or constantly get wrong. Below are some of the most common.

Read also: ‘Calling French grammar sexy takes the love of this language too far’ TESTICULE This is one of the most common words that trick people up. The word _testicule _(testicle) is

masculine. It would in itself be an easy enough mnemotechnic trick to remember its gender considering men bear them but many French people go with the feminine (somehow it just sounds right

and not just because of the final -e, which is often a clue). The confusion may also lie in that the fact _testicule_ is almost always often used in the plural, for obvious reasons. A

similar example is tentacule (tentacle), which is also masculine.  APRÈS-MIDI Tying with _testicule_ and another often mentioned word is _après-midi_ (afternoon). The Académie française, the

bearer of French language rules, lists the word in both forms. It is however not considered _epicene_ (a word that has two genders). While the Académie française says the masculine should

be preferred, the feminine can also be used but, if so, _après-midi_ should remain invariable, which means that any adjectives added should not be put into the feminine. ECHAPPATOIRE

_Échappatoire_ (way-out, escape) is a killer and any French person giving a straight and correct answer in less than one second is faking it. _Échappatoire_ is feminine. Many French people

will still raise an eyebrow when reading the above sentence because they cannot be sure. The final -e can help some in remembering it is feminine. HALTÈRE That rule, however, would get you

in the wrong direction for haltère (dumbbell). However odd to many French it may seem, haltère is a masculine word. It is also one of these words that are almost always often spelt in its

plural form. The confusion can lie behind the final -e letter that is often, as said, considered to be an indication that these words have a greater chance of being feminine than masculine.

Other masculine words that fall into this trap include: abysse (abyss), obélisque (obelisk), emblème (emblem). ORTHOGRAPHE Ironically, the French word for ‘spelling’ also causes confusion. 

Ortographe is feminine. Since this word begins with a vowel, you can often get away with not knowing the precise gender rule as ‘L apostrophe’ saves the day: l’ortographe.  WIFI / COVID Wifi

and Covid are two words that have not been registered in the Académie française’s dictionary. There is a divide between French people as to whether these words - such as many words borrowed

from technology or new additions - are masculine or feminine. Some people say _la wifi_ and _la Covid_. Others say _le wifi_ and _le Covid_. APARTÉ _Aparté_, either a private conversation

or the aside part of a play, is masculine. No matter how many times it is mentioned, printed and taught, many French people will keep on using it as a feminine word. The é at the end is once

again a trick. Warning: acné (skin condition) is feminine! H.L.M. H.L.M stands for habitation à loyer modéré (a council estate or housing project).  It is solidly agreed that habitation is

female, yet some French people mistakenly use the masculine.  Note that you can refer to un logement en HLM, with ‘un’ referring to le logement.  PÉTALE There are countless other words that

can make the list. LALANGUEFRANÇAISE.COM has chosen 23 French words that are often confused and many of them can be used in both feminine and masculine. _Pétale_ (petal) was chosen because

it is another commonly used word that is confused for a feminine when it is, in fact, masculine. The probable reason lies in that petals are often found on flowers or often attached to

sentences including the word _fleur_, which is feminine. Read also: Larousse dictionary adds 150 new French words - which ones do you know? QUIZ The Connexion’s French writer, Théophile

Larcher, scored an impressive 6/10 in our “nightmare” quiz. “I got extremely lucky,” he said. Can you match, or even beat his level? Bonne chance!  _1. _Intervalle - An interval in time or

distance. CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Masculine 2. Agrume - A citrus fruit. CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Masculine 3. Eclair - A lightning bolt, flash or long pastry.  CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A)

Masculine 4. Oasis - A haven or pool of water in the desert.  CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Feminine 5. Anagramme - A word made from mixed-up letters. CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Feminine 6.

Hémisphère - Half of a sphere. CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Masculine 7. Icône - A small computer icon, religious figure or celebrity. CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Feminine 8. Granule - A fine grain.

CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Masculine 9. Agrafe - A staple. CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Feminine 10. Termite - An underground insect that feeds on wood. CLICK TO SHOW ANSWER A) Masculine Read also:

Meet Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, the guardian of the French language If you would like us to explain a particular word, expression, grammar point, or if you have any other Learning

French suggestions, let us know at: [email protected]