Year – année or an

(Pronounced ah-nee/ an)

It was a whole year before the climber got back on the mountains after damaging a knee (année) in an accident.

The word year in French is unusual – it has two forms. One of these, année, is the feminine version, and the shorter form, an, is the masculine version.

The feminine version, année, is used when talking or writing about a particular year, or the events that occurred in a specific year. The masculine version, an, is used when a year is viewed as a single, objective point in time for purpose of counting or stating a date.

Annie (Année) is always a girl (feminine)
An is one letter short of man (masculine)