How do you know if a french word is feminine or masculine?

Answer 1

Words ending with an additional 'e' following accented 'e' - é, ette, elle and many more are mostly categorized as feminine words, there are some exceptions.

Feminine words in french:

Cigarette - cigarette

Epée - sword

Jumelle - twin (females) or (Jumelles) binoculars

Piqure (the 'u' is circumflex accent) - prick or sting

Masculine words in french:

Ange - angel

Civet - stew

Ballon - ball (sport)

Answer 2

French kids have to learn for every word, what gender they are. Articles are useful clues: "le" and "un" are masculine, so the following noun is masculine. "la" or "une" are feminine, and so is the following noun.

If the noun is qualified by an adjective, a feminine noun will often end with "e" (not always true, beware!)