# Un and une: two small words for French beginners

Source: https://superlexa.com/learn/french-un-and-une/
Published: 2026-09-28

Learn how un and une work with simple French nouns. Practice with a café, a film, and an idea, then check your answers.

French uses *un* before a masculine singular noun and *une* before a feminine singular noun. Both often translate to “a” or “an” in English.

## Learn the pair together

| French | English |
| --- | --- |
| un café | a café / a coffee |
| un film | a film |
| un concert | a concert |
| une idée | an idea |

Learn *une idée* as a pair, rather than learning *idée* alone. The article gives you information you will use again when building sentences.

## Try it yourself

Complete these phrases with *un* or *une*:

1. ___ film
2. ___ idée
3. ___ concert

The answers are *un film*, *une idée*, and *un concert*.

## Meet them in a story

Read a [French story about Flight MH370](/learn/french-flight-mh370/) and notice which nouns follow *un*. The point is to recognize the pattern while still following the story.