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I've been learning French since 5 months ago. I have this question about French usage. Let's consider the following translations, for instance.
My question is very simple: what is the exact difference between these two words "beau" and "belle"? Is the difference based on formal/informal, male/female or even present/past contexts?
It's simply male/female variation.
"Je suis beau" means I am a boy and I am beautiful. "Je suis belle" means I am a girl and I am beautiful.
So you will also say: "Elle est belle" and "Il est beau".
And for the plural forms:
"Elles sont belles" and "Ils sont beaux".
Note that "beau" is the masculine form and "belle" is the feminine.
If you're learning French, there is a significant difference with English in that adjectives change according to masculine/feminine and singular/plural. So in your example, the gender explain the difference :
You may also find "bel" as a male singular form, when the adjective appears before the nouns starting with a vowel sound. For example, you will say "c'est un bel homme" and not "c'est un beau homme". If you're a starter, do not focus on this, but you may read it here and there. If you're not a starter, take extra care for what kind of h start such words: you must say "c'est un beau hamster".
Note 1: This grammatical rule known as "Le masculin l'emporte sur le féminin" raises discussion in France, as some consider it implies gender discrimination.
Le féminin des adjectifs
Règle générale:
Adjectif masculin + E = Adjectif féminin
Exemples:
Règles d'exception:
–e devient –e
Exemples:
–er devient –ère
Exemple:
–f devient –ve
Exemple:
–eux devient –euse
Exemple:
– et, –el, –eil, –en, –ien, –on deviennent –ette, –elle, eille, –enne, –ienne, –onne
Exemples:
Mais!!!
–al, –in, –ain, –ein, –un deviennent –ale, –ine, –aine, –eine, –une
Exemples:
–eur devient –euse
Exemple:
–teur devient –trice
Exemple:
Mais!!!
Les féminins irréguliers:
- beau – belle
- fou – folle
- mou – molle
- nouveau – nouvelle
- vieux – vieille
- public – publique
- sec – sèche
- doux – douce
- blanc – blanche
- favori – favorite
- frais – fraîche
- grec – grecque
- long – longue
- turc – turque
- bas – basse
- gros – grosse
Exemples:
(Bonne chance)
Trois points qui ont besoin d'être rappelé à tout le monde :
Donc : un beau héros, mais une belle héroïne
Le Bordelais, L'Alsacien, le Londonien
(This is a completely indirect answer to the question, so feel free to downvote.)
My husband, dog, and I were travelling through a French-speaking community and stopped to walk our dog. A lady wanted to meet our dog, and we started chatting (or rather, my husband did since my French is terrible). At one point, the lady asked us this question about our dog: "Beau ou belle?"
By setting up an alternative of the masculine and feminine forms of the adjective, she was asking if our dog is male or female.
This wording relies on the language having grammatical gender and requiring agreement. I don't believe it is possible to translate it directly into English. Asking something like "handsome or beautiful?" would likely not be understood as inquiring about the dog's gender, and furthermore relies on outdated notions of beauty and gender.
Asking "beau ou belle?" seems less direct than how we'd typically ask in English (e.g. "Is it a boy or a girl?" or "Is it a 'he' or a 'she'?"). The indirectness of the question feels (to me, at least) more polite than the English alternatives, and quite appropriate to the situation of talking with strangers on the street.
belto be used for male gender when the next word starts with a vowel sound:un bel arbre/un bel homme.