French adjectives ending in -et

French has a few adjectives that end in -et in the written masculine form. For example: complet (complete) and net (clear).

As for as pronunciation is concerned, these forms aren't too difficult:

The final t is pronounced in the feminine form, but not in the masculine form.

As is often the case, the spelling system makes things look at bit compliceted. There are two spelling patterns that adjectives ending in -t can follow:

most adjectives ending in -et have feminine forms ending in -ette;
a few, common adjectives ending in -et have feminine forms ending in -ète.

Feminine forms ending in -ète

There are a few common adjectives ending in -et whose feminine ends in -ète. Most of these have been adopted in English:

Masculine form	Feminine form	Meaning
(in)complet	(in)complète	(in)complete; full (theatre, train etc)
concret	concrète	concrete
désuet	désuète	obsolete, no longer used
(in)discret	(in)discrète	(in)discreet
inquiet¹	inquiète	worried, anxious, uneasy
replet	replète	plump, chubby (cf English replete)
secret	secrète	secret

Other adjectives: feminine in -ette

The feminine of other adjectives ending in -et is conventionally written with -ette. For example:

Masculine form	Feminine form	Meaning
cadet	cadette	younger
muet	muette	mute
net	nette	clear, plain; clean, tidy

Adjectives ending in -el

French adjectives ending in -el follow a similar rule to adjectives ending in -et(te), as they double the final l in the feminine.

1. The feminine of the now obsolete word quiet (from which inquiet is derived) is also written quiète in modern spelling.

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