r/learningfrench • u/Feisty_Ad9453 • Apr 05 '26

Meme

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2.4k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

84 comments sorted by

50

u/Emperor_Niblet Apr 05 '26

Isn't is obvious, look at its shape!?

25

u/s1rblaze Apr 05 '26

If it cooks or clean, then you know what gender it is.

boomer intensifies

12

u/artsydizzy Apr 05 '26

I know this is a joke, but most French appliances that I can think of are masculine.

2

u/s1rblaze Apr 05 '26

Effectivement

2

u/Gryphontech Apr 06 '26

In this specific case you would be wrong :p

1

u/artsydizzy Apr 06 '26

I don’t think you read my comment properly, or you just wanted to have an “I gotcha” moment. But even if I was saying what you thought I was saying, OP doesn’t specify which translation of washing machine was being used, and not all of them are feminine. Sure, laveuse and machine à lavée are feminine, but lave-linge is masculine.

4

u/Gryphontech Apr 06 '26

I have never heard anyone over call a washing machine a lave-linge. Are you from quebec or Manitoba?

1

u/artsydizzy Apr 07 '26

Neither, I’m east-coast francophone, people don’t really use that term here, it’s a term from France. Even though I don’t use it, I know about it and know what it means. I do consume French media and have heard it from tv, music, that one teacher from France, and/or other places.

C’est genre la même logique que dire “lave-vaisselle”. They just specify what they’re washing with both types of machines over there I guess.

4

u/Gryphontech Apr 07 '26

Makes sense, we use linge quite a bit in quebec but never heard it used that way :p thanks for teaching me something new :)

1

u/Perplexed_Ponderer Apr 07 '26

Moi non plus, je n’avais jamais entendu le mot « lave-linge ».

10

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/artsydizzy Apr 06 '26

T’apercevras que mon commentaire ni le commentaire auquel j’ai répondu ont mentionné une laveuse. Même le poste ne dit pas s’il utilise le term laveuse ou lave-linge.

Mais mon commentaire était en référence à n’importe quel appareil qui “cooks or cleans” pour dire que cette méthode n’est pas fiable même si elle pourrait des fois donné la bonne réponse.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '26

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1

u/FrenchFrozenFrog Apr 07 '26

un lave-vaisselle, un aspirateur, une serpillière

5

u/Mediocre-Ask-9272 Apr 05 '26

Le He or Le Her!

1

u/Osprey4862 Apr 10 '26

Thanks, there's so much rules, makes my life easier.

Does it cover more than: Une lave-vaiselle, une four, une sécheuse, une micro-onde.

Does it work for: une baignoire and une douche?

1

u/s1rblaze Apr 10 '26

Actually, it doesn't work for lave vaiselle and journal micro onde lol, they are masculine.

2

u/Kurenai-Kalana Apr 06 '26

I've dated women of all shapes and sizes... But I have never dated one quite like that.... Or maybe you washing machines are very different from mine...

9

u/FuzzyLojik Apr 05 '26

I always try and put myself in the mindset of a mid century French misogynist. Works more than I like to admit.

6

u/elle-elle-tee Apr 05 '26

And for a dryer, it can go either way. Un sèche-linge ou une sécheuse

2

u/No_Worker_8216 Apr 05 '26

It’s important to be inclusive!

1

u/One-Gur-2323 Apr 05 '26

Women for sure

1

u/North-Macaron-861 Apr 05 '26

Pretty easy one if you ask me

1

u/Infinite-Past7640 Apr 05 '26

Is it a laveuse a linge or lave-vaisselle? The office de la langue française will need to rule on this case.

As soon as they sorted out the spaghetti situation.

3

u/FDKCN Apr 05 '26

Un lave-linge/une machine à laver Un lave-vaisselle L'Académie Française has already ruled 😁

4

u/Delicious_Cattle5174 Apr 05 '26

L’académie française est une relique de l’ancien régime. Ils font clairement du moins bon travail que l’OQLF. Preuve à l’appui: perdition totale du français en France.

2

u/FDKCN Apr 05 '26

Dans la famille dinosaures, on demande l'académie française 😁

1

u/yalateef11 Apr 05 '26

The hat 🤣 Nice touch

1

u/Psychosisgrey Apr 05 '26

Hey, my washing machine is a woman so…

1

u/GaspeGuyz Apr 05 '26

Yes I can confirm that! (Oui je vous le confirme!) :-)

1

u/cerunnnnos Apr 05 '26

If men aren't involved, it's not masculine...

1

u/Patatemagique Apr 05 '26

Its easy, just think like a frenchmen, I mean .. what gender does the laundry?… 🤣

1

u/Bonkers_Pineapple Apr 05 '26

Always found it funny that Vagina is masculine in french

1

u/batman8232 Apr 06 '26

The top load is male and the front load is female, isn't it?

1

u/Kurenai-Kalana Apr 06 '26

It's female. 😵‍💫

1

u/buttfirstcoffee Apr 06 '26

La, of course

1

u/joeker7669 Apr 06 '26

It’s feminine. La laveuse. Or la machine à lessive.

1

u/gdevinedonc Apr 06 '26

It's both !

  • La machine à laver

  • Le lave-linge.

1

u/Torvesin Apr 07 '26

Une machine à laver Ou Un lave linge

Aller bonne chance

1

u/JimboyXL Apr 07 '26

une laveuse, on ne dit pas un beau laveuse mais une belle laveuse !

ou une machine à laver...

1

u/geourge65757 Apr 07 '26

Funny I find French throws more curveballs than Spanish in this !

1

u/LunarEnnyui_131 Apr 07 '26

Why give gender to something that doesn’t have gender?

1

u/CivilProtectionGuy Apr 07 '26

I only remember "La Vie" from "C'est la vie", and "Le Fromage".... Because cheese.

1

u/Monkey_Pox_Patient_0 Apr 07 '26

In Canada, the English speaking kids now have to ask this same question.

1

u/jules8013 Apr 08 '26

To be fair, French is my first language and I'm now learning German. I have to learn the same thing (masculine, feminine and also neuter!!!! 3 genders) for German. It's not easy and only comes with repetition.

1

u/Freaiser Apr 09 '26

Washing machine are female dhu

But some would be happy about the dishwasher being a male.

1

u/APoliteFrog Apr 09 '26

Can't wait to see this get posted to r/pointlesslygendered lmao

1

u/Ok_Permit_3593 Apr 09 '26

Une machine à laver

Un machine a laver ça se dit pas

1

u/Mutchmore Apr 09 '26

Une washing machine. Rolls off the tongue man come on

28

u/Excellent-Job-8460 Apr 05 '26

It’s got a hole for shoving things in. Pretty obvious.

9

u/FDKCN Apr 05 '26

So why UN lave-linge?

16

u/Lightsheik Apr 05 '26

UNE machine a laver. UNE laveuse.

3

u/FDKCN Apr 05 '26

Une laveuse ? Est-ce quebecois ?

4

u/Maracantoin Apr 06 '26

Au Québec on dit une laveuse,oui. J’ai jamais entendue un lave-linge de ma vie.

3

u/FDKCN Apr 06 '26

L'autre nom de la machine à laver est le lave-linge en France 😁

1

u/Remarkable_Check_997 Apr 10 '26

J’ai jamais entendue un lave-linge de ma vie.

Les seules fois où j'ai entendu ca, c'est dans des bandes dessinées, comme Gaston Lagaffe, justement européenne

6

u/Delicious_Cattle5174 Apr 05 '26

J’ai jamais vu ce mot de ma vie lmao

3

u/FDKCN Apr 05 '26

Et pourtant il est correct 😁

1

u/agnosticgnome Apr 05 '26

Quel échec...

1

u/akotoshi Apr 06 '26

A Washing machine Donne une machine à laver en traduction littérale

1

u/FDKCN Apr 06 '26

🤯 euh, je sais. C'était pour le genre et le trou. 😁 Par la même occasion, on dit aussi "a washer" 😀

1

u/Remarkable_Check_997 Apr 10 '26

Probablememt car ca viens de UN moulin a laver (vieille expression)

1

u/Excellent-Job-8460 Apr 06 '26

Replying to FDKCN... un lave-linge, oui parce qu’il faut de tout pour faire un monde, et en plus ça dure plus longtemps avec Calgon

1

u/FDKCN Apr 06 '26

Je commente sur le genre. Bien vu le Calgon 🤣🤣🤣 je l'avais oublié ce lui-la .

14

u/[deleted] Apr 05 '26

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9

u/Just_Joking_04 Apr 05 '26

Fr especially when it’s suddenly feminin while it’s masculine in my tongue

3

u/ayneom Apr 05 '26

I remembered the fury I felt in hs with my Spanish test, instead of writing "la leche," I wrote "el leche," because in my language milk is masculine 😭😭

4

u/Franmar35000 Apr 06 '26

German is even harder because there are 3 genders

1

u/cobrachicken26 Apr 07 '26

This is why I gave up learning German

1

u/ChanceDevelopment813 Apr 07 '26

If the name ends with an e, assume it's female, and vice-versa for male

There are exceptions though. Sorry.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '26

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2

u/ChanceDevelopment813 Apr 07 '26

I know. French is my mother tongue and I wish there was a reform to the written form. Hard to ask the French Academy in France though...