Zorg SpaceHow do I know if a Spanish noun is masculine or feminine?
Short answer
Most of the time, the ending tells you. Nouns ending in -o are usually masculine (el libro) and nouns ending in -a are usually feminine (la casa). Several other endings are very reliable: -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine (la canción, la ciudad), while -aje and most -or nouns are masculine (el viaje, el color). Many words of Greek origin ending in -ma are masculine: el problema, el sistema, el idioma.
For everything else — and for the well-known exceptions such as el día and la mano — learn every noun together with its article.
Endings that tell you the gender
| Ending | Gender | Examples | Notable exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| -o | masculine | el libro, el vaso | la mano, la foto, la moto, la radio |
| -a | feminine | la casa, la mesa | el día, el mapa, el sofá, el planeta |
| -ma (Greek origin) | masculine | el problema, el tema, el clima, el idioma | la cama, la forma (not Greek -ma) |
| -ción, -sión | feminine | la canción, la televisión | — |
| -dad, -tad | feminine | la ciudad, la libertad | — |
| -tud, -umbre | feminine | la actitud, la costumbre | — |
| -aje | masculine | el viaje, el garaje | — |
| -or | masculine | el color, el amor | la flor |
La foto, la moto and la radio keep the gender of the longer words they come from: la fotografía, la motocicleta, la radiodifusión.
Nouns for people
Many nouns for people change their ending: el profesor / la profesora, el niño / la niña. Others stay the same and only the article changes: el estudiante / la estudiante, el periodista / la periodista, el cantante / la cantante.
Feminine nouns with “el”: el agua
Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- take el in the singular, to avoid two “a” sounds colliding — but they are still feminine:
-
el agua fría
cold water
feminine adjective: fría
-
las aguas
the waters
plural returns to las
-
el águila
the eagle
stressed á-
-
el hacha
the axe
silent h, stressed a-
Nouns whose gender changes the meaning
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| el capital — money, capital (economics) | la capital — capital city |
| el orden — order, arrangement | la orden — an order, a command |
| el corte — a cut | la corte — the royal court |
| el cometa — a comet | la cometa — a kite |
| el frente — the front (military, weather) | la frente — the forehead |
Why it matters
Gender affects more than the article. Adjectives, demonstratives and pronouns agree with the noun:
-
el coche nuevo, este coche, lo compré
the new car, this car, I bought it
-
la casa nueva, esta casa, la compré
the new house, this house, I bought it
So a wrong gender usually produces two or three mistakes in one sentence.
Common mistakes
-
Not: la problema
Better: el problema
-
Not: el mano
Better: la mano
-
Not: la día
Better: el día
-
Not: el agua frío
Better: el agua fría
agua is feminine, even with el
-
Not: el ciudad
Better: la ciudad
How to learn gender efficiently
- Always learn the article with the noun: not mesa, but la mesa.
- Learn the exceptions as a small list: el día, el mapa, el problema, el idioma, la mano, la foto, la flor.
- Use colour: write masculine nouns in one colour and feminine in another in your notes or cards.
- Learn nouns in short phrases with an adjective: la mano izquierda, el día largo — the agreement trains your ear.
- Notice endings when you meet new words, and check the rule.
In short
- -o is usually masculine, -a usually feminine.
- -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine; -aje and most -or are masculine; Greek -ma words are masculine.
- Feminine nouns with stressed a- take el in the singular: el agua fría.
- Learn every noun with its article, and the main exceptions as a list.
Lessons on this in the library
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