🇫🇷 French

volcan

Did you know? This word is a cognate — it looks similar in English and has the same meaning. Cognates are usually easier to remember!
masculine

le volcan

volcano

Try it

volcan
/lə vɔlkɑ̃/
← masculine feminine →

How do you say volcan in French?

IPA
/lə vɔlkɑ̃/

How do you pronounce volcan in French?

volcan is pronounced /lə vɔlkɑ̃/ in French.

Example sentences

Le volcan actif a erupted hier et a détruit plusieurs villages.

The active volcano erupted yesterday and destroyed several villages.

Ce grand volcan sicilien est devenu un site touristique populaire.

This large Sicilian volcano has become a popular tourist site.

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Why is it masculine?

Volcan is masculine in French. While it does derive from Latin "vulcanus" (the Roman god of fire), the gender assignment is better explained by the Latin masculine nominative ending "-us," which typically became masculine nouns in French. Most French nouns ending in "-an" are masculine, following a predictable pattern rather than being purely exceptional. The word retained its masculine gender through regular sound changes and gender patterns during the evolution from Latin to French.

What is the French word for volcano?

The French word for volcano is le volcan — masculine.

Gender across languages

LanguageWordArticleGender
🇪🇸 Spanishvolcánelmasculine
🇵🇹 Portuguesevulcãoomasculine

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