Nouns and pronouns in the English language are said to take one of the three genders – masculine, feminine and neuter. The feminine gender refers to words that show the female form of people, animals, or roles. Understanding masculine and feminine gender nouns in English grammar is very important, as it helps you score better in school exams and also improves your speaking and writing. For example, a common question asked in exams is: What is the feminine gender of ‘fox’? Learning such word pairs and their correct usage will make English easier and more interesting for you.

What is Feminine Gender?
Rules for Identifying Feminine Gender Nouns
Examples of Feminine Gender
Practice Exercise on Feminine Gender
Frequently Asked Questions on Feminine Gender

What is Feminine Gender?

The feminine gender is used to refer to the nouns and pronouns naming the female counterparts of human beings, animals and birds. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines the feminine gender as “belonging to a class of words that refer to female people or animals and often have a special form”. Also, the feminine gender is defined as words “of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to females”.

Examples of Feminine Gender Nouns:

Persons: mother, daughter, sister, aunt, queen, princess, actress, heroine, witch, lady, wife, girl, woman.
Animals: lioness, tigress, bitch (female dog), cow, hen, mare, duck (female), goose (female), vixen.

Pronouns used for the Feminine Gender: she, her, hers.

Example: The queen greeted her people. She smiled warmly. The welcome was all hers.

Rules for Identifying Feminine Gender Nouns

Some feminine forms are made using the suffix ‘-ess’ (e.g., actor – actress).
Many animal names have a special feminine word (fox – vixen, lion – lioness).
Certain nouns are irregular and change completely (drake – duck, gander – goose).
Some nouns use “female/woman” or “male/man” before the word if needed (female doctor).

Examples of Feminine Gender

When we talk about the feminine gender, we mean the words that show a female person, animal, or sometimes even things. These are the words we use to talk about girls, women, and female animals. For example, “actress” is the feminine form of “actor,” and “queen” is the feminine form of “king.”

Learning these words is fun and useful because it helps you speak and write correctly. Below is a list of common feminine gender words that you can use in your daily life, at school, or even when talking about animals.

People / Occupations

Actress
Waitress
Stewardess
Nurse
Queen
Princess
Empress
Madam
Mistress
Governess
Huntress
Shepherdess
Poetess
Heiress
Hostess
Milkmaid
Seamstress
Heroine
Spinster
Nun
Girl
Mother
Daughter
Sister
Aunt
Grandmother
Wife
Lady
Hostess
Woman
Maid
Damsel
Female teacher
Governess
Matron
Queen consort

Animals

Cow
Mare
Hen
Doe (female deer)
Vixen (female fox)
Ewe (female sheep)
Tigress
Lioness
Peacock → Peahen
Drake → Duck
Gander → Goose
Cat → Queen (female cat)
Dog → Bitch
Stallion → Mare

Titles/Nobility

Duchess
Baroness
Countess
Empress
Lady
Princess
Queen
Vicereine

Mythical/Religious

Goddess
Valkyrie
Sorceress
Enchantress
Priestess
Sibyl

Objects / Miscellaneous (feminine forms of masculine nouns)

Hero → Heroine
Poet → Poetess
Steward → Stewardess
Host → Hostess
Master → Mistress
God → Goddess
Emperor → Empress
Sir → Madam
Bachelor → Spinster
Fox → Vixen
Bull → Cow
Ram → Ewe
Tiger → Tigress
Peacock → Peahen
Drake → Duck
Gander → Goose
Milkman → Milkmaid
Actor → Actress
Prince → Princess
Duke → Duchess
Wizard → Witch

Additional Feminine Nouns

Bride
Bridegroom → Bride
Stepdaughter
Stepmother
Godmother
Granddaughter
Schoolmistress
Headmistress
Waitress
Saleswoman
Chairwoman
Businesswoman
Sportswoman
Spokeswoman
Policewoman

Don’t Miss Out: What is Masculine Gender? Easy Guide with Examples

Practice Exercise on Feminine Gender

Exercise 01: Fill in the blanks using the Feminine Gender of the noun given in the bracket:

She likes the performance of the _____. (Actor)
It is a ritual to ride a _____ during the wedding procession. (Stallion)
Farmers keep _____ for the production of eggs. (Cock/Rooster)
The _____ did not respond to the call. (Waiter)
The _____ killed the wild beast easily. (Hunter)
Life for a _____ is luxurious. (King)
The _____ presented her poems. (Poet)
The _____ delivers milk to us daily. (Milkman)

Answers:

Actress
Mare
Hen
Waitress
Huntress
Queen
Poetess
Milkmaid

Exercise 02: Change the words in bold from feminine to masculine.

The girl bears a strong resemblance to her father.
The master gave his manservant a present.
The monk is talking to my grandfather.
My uncle was an aeroplane steward once.
The bull was chased by the fox.
My maternal uncle is a bachelor.
My nephew has a pet tom-cat.
This actor played the part of the hero in the movie.
This boy is the bridegroom.
Mr. Lee is our headmaster.

Answers:

The girl bears a strong resemblance to her mother.
The mistress gave her maidservant a present.
The nun is talking to my grandmother.
My aunt was an aeroplane stewardess once.
The cow was chased by the vixen.
My maternal aunt is a spinster.
My niece has a pet tabby-cat.
This actress played the part of the heroine in the movie.
This girl is the bride.
Ms. Lee is our headmistress.

Exercise 03: Write the feminine form for the following masculine nouns.

Masculine: husband → Feminine: _______________
Masculine: fox → Feminine: _____________________
Masculine: duke → Feminine: ___________________
Masculine: bachelor → Feminine: ______________
Masculine: gander → Feminine: ________________
Masculine: monk → Feminine: __________________
Masculine: bull → Feminine: ___________________
Masculine: shepherd → Feminine: _____________
Masculine: stallion → Feminine: _______________
Masculine: host → Feminine: __________________
Masculine: drake → Feminine: _________________
Masculine: sir → Feminine: ____________________
Masculine: master → Feminine: _______________
Masculine: peacock → Feminine: ______________
Masculine: god → Feminine: ___________________
Masculine: emperor → Feminine: ______________
Masculine: ram → Feminine: ___________________
Masculine: tiger → Feminine: __________________
Masculine: poet → Feminine: __________________
Masculine: milkman → Feminine: ______________

Answers:

Wife
Vixen
Duchess
Spinster
Goose
Nun
Cow
Shepherdess
Mare
Hostess
Duck
Madam
Mistress
Peahen
Goddess
Empress
Ewe
Tigress
Poetess
Milkmaid

Exercise 04: Fill in the blanks with the correct feminine pronoun (she, her, hers).

Mrs. Davis is our neighbour. _______ is very friendly.
That is Sarah's bicycle. It is _______.
I saw Lucy at the library. I returned the book to _______.
The little girl lost _______ doll.
My mother bakes cakes. _______ always decorates _______ cakes beautifully.
The actress was proud of _______ performance; the award was truly _______.
My teacher, Miss Anya, is very kind. _______ helps all the students.
The woman couldn't find _______ purse anywhere.
I have my lunchbox, and Maria has _______.
When my grandmother visits, _______ tells me wonderful stories. I love listening to ________.
The queen walked through _______ beautiful garden every morning.
This drawing was made by my sister. The artwork is _______.
Priya is my best friend. I share all my secrets with _______.
After the race, the runner needed to catch _______ breath. _______ was very tired.
My aunt started _______ own business. All the creative ideas were _______, and _______ worked very hard to succeed.

Answers:

She
hers
her
her
She
her
her
hers
She
her
hers
She
her
her
her, hers, she

Frequently Asked Questions on Feminine Gender

Q1. What is the feminine gender and example?

Answer: Feminine gender refers to words, such as people, animals, or birds, that identify as female or are of the female sex. Examples include woman, mother, queen, vixen (a female fox), and the pronoun she.