Fiance vs Fiancee | Difference & Meaning
The noun fiancé refers to a man who is engaged to be married, while the noun fiancée refers to a woman who is engaged to be married. Both of these words are pronounced in the same way (with emphasis on either the second syllable or the third syllable ).
| Fiancée in a sentence | Fiancé in a sentence |
|---|---|
| She’s Henry’s fiancée. | He’s Emma’s fiancé. |
| Have you met my fiancée, Emma? | Have you met my fiancée, Henry? |
Fiance meaning
The person noun fiancé is typically gender-specific. So, if someone refers to their fiancé, they are probably talking about the man they are engaged to be married to.
However, “fiancé” is increasingly being used as a gender-neutral term to refer to both men and women (like the nouns “actor,” “comedian,” and “nurse”).
This is Helen’s fiancé, Tim.
Fiancee meaning
The person noun fiancée refers to a woman who is engaged to be married. Like the corresponding masculine term “fiancé,” it is frequently used in combination with “his,” “her,” “my” and the possessive noun form of people’s names to indicate the relationship between two people.
As fiancée is gender-specific, “fiancé” (with one “e”) is increasingly being used as a gender-neutral alternative to refer to both women and men.
This is Tim’s fiancée, Helen.
Fiance accent mark
Most dictionaries include the accents (diacritics) in their entries for the words fiancé and fiancée, indicating that these loan words from French are still widely used with their original accents in English. It’s therefore best to include the accents on these words if you are using them in formal writing such as academic writing. However, if you have been asked to follow a specific style guide, check it to see what it recommends.
Fiancée vs fiancé pronunciation
The feminine noun fiancée and the masculine noun fiancé are pronounced the same way. You can pronounce them with the stress on the second syllable (
) or last syllable (
). In British English, the standard pronunciation is with the stress on the second syllable (“an”).
Frequently asked questions about fiancé vs fiancée
- Is fiance male or female?
-
If you’re not sure whether you need the word fiancé or fiancée: the person noun “fiancé” is the male form, and “fiancée” (with an additional “e”) is the female form.
However, there is a trend toward using “fiancé” as a gender-neutral term for both men and women.
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- Is fiance gender neutral?
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While fiancé is increasingly being used as a gender-neutral expression instead of distinguishing between fiancé or fiancée, these words are still typically used gender-specifically (i.e., “fiancé” for a man and “fiancée” for a woman).
Have you tried out QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to help you pick up typos and grammar errors in your writing?
- Is fiance capitalized?
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The person noun fiancé is not a proper noun, so it is not typically capitalized.
On a related note, if you’re not sure whether you need the word fiancé or fiancée: “fiancé” typically refers to a man and “fiancée” to a woman.
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to identify proper nouns in your writing.
- Is fiancee female?
-
If you’re not sure whether fiancé or fiancée is the correct word: the person noun “fiancée” refers to a woman (i.e., it is the female form), and “fiancé” typically refers to a man.
However, “fiancé” is increasingly being used as a gender-neutral term (i.e., to refer to both men and women).
Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to help you identify spelling, grammar and punctuation errors in your writing?
