In French, nouns are either masculine or feminine. The gender of a noun is not always predictable and does not always correspond to the gender of the person or object it represents.
The gender of a noun affects the form of the article (le or la), the adjective, and the past participle of some verbs.
For example:
"La voiture" (the car) is feminine, so the adjective "belle" (beautiful) will become "belle" when modifying "voiture".
"Le chapeau" (the hat) is masculine, so the adjective "beau" (beautiful) will become "beau" when modifying "chapeau".
It's important to note that many nouns that end in -age, -ege, -é, -isme, -ment, -ou, -sme, -té, and -x are masculine. Nouns that end in -aison, -ence, -ette, -ie, -ion, -té, and -ure are feminine. But there are many exceptions to these rules.