⚠️ A phonetic false friend… and a frequent trap
The word gender is often confused orally with gendre in French, though it has absolutely nothing to do with it. It can mean:
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genre grammatical (masculine, feminine, neuter)
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sexe or identité de genre (in social, medical, or legal texts)
🧠 In grammar: genre
In linguistic or educational texts, gender translates as genre, in the grammatical sense:
⚖️ In law, health, or politics: sexe
In legal, administrative, or social texts, gender often translates as sexe when it refers to a biological or administrative characteristic.
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The gender of the victim should not matter in this case
→ Le sexe de la victime ne devrait pas avoir d’importance dans cette affaire
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Gender discrimination is prohibited
→ La discrimination fondée sur le sexe est interdite
👥 In public policy: égalité des sexes
The expression gender equality is generally translated as égalité des sexes, which is the conventional legal and institutional formulation in French.
👉 Égalité des genres is sometimes used in activist circles, but is less common and less standardized.
🚫 False friend to avoid: gendre
⚠️ Gender has nothing to do with gendre (the son-in-law). Oral confusion is frequent, especially in interpretation.
✅ In summary
| English word |
Proper French wording |
Do not render as |
| gender (grammar) |
genre |
gendre |
| gender (legal/social) |
sexe |
genre (in some cases) |
| gender equality |
égalité des sexes |
égalité des genres (less common) |
📌 TransLex’s Advice
Before translating gender, ask yourself:
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Is it about grammar, personal data, or equality policy?
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Should the focus be on sexe biologique, perceived gender, or equality between men and women?
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Is the audience institutional, legal, or activist?
👉 In law, gender = sexe, especially in official documents or HR policies.
👉 In grammar, gender = genre.
👉 Never translate it as gendre!
❓ FAQ: Translating "gender" in legal and grammatical French
Is "gender" the same as the French word gendre?
Absolutely not, and this is a phonetic trap especially in interpreting. Gendre means son-in-law and has nothing to do with gender; conflating the two is a serious slip that the sound similarity tends to provoke.
When does "gender" translate as sexe rather than genre?
In legal, administrative, or medical texts referring to a biological or recorded characteristic, gender becomes sexe ("gender discrimination" → discrimination fondée sur le sexe). Genre is reserved for the grammatical sense, as in "nouns have a gender" → les noms ont un genre.
How should "gender equality" be rendered in French?
The standard legal and institutional phrasing is égalité des sexes. Égalité des genres appears in activist registers but is less conventional, so official HR or policy documents should default to égalité des sexes.
