Learn French: Je suis une femme.

Je suis une femme.

I am a woman.

Breakdown of Je suis une femme.

Questions & Answers about Je suis une femme.

Why do we use une instead of un here?

In French, every noun has a gender, either masculine or feminine. The word femme (woman) is feminine. Therefore, we use the feminine word for "a", which is une. If we were talking about a masculine noun like a man (un homme), we would use the masculine un.

Why is femme pronounced with an "ah" sound instead of an "eh" sound?

The word femme is a famous exception in French pronunciation. Even though it is spelled with an "e", it is pronounced with an "ah" sound, sounding a lot like "fam". You just have to memorize this special rule for this specific word!

Does femme always mean "woman"?

It can mean "woman" or "wife" depending on the context. Here, une femme simply means "a woman". If someone wanted to talk about their wife, they would use a possessive word, like ma femme (my wife).

Just as a refresher, what verb does suis come from?

Suis is a conjugated form of the verb être, which means "to be". In French, verbs change their shape depending on who is doing the action. Je suis is the specific combination that means "I am".