- Recognise that Spanish are masculine or feminine
- Learn the basic -o (masculine) and -a (feminine) pattern
- Master common : el/la (the) and un/una (a/an)
- Identify using in everyday vocabulary
- Remember 3 important exceptions: el día, la mano, el problema
- Apply gender rules to describe things around you
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NounsBeginner
Gender of Nouns: masculino y femenino (el/la)
Learn how to identify masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish
What You'll Learn
Overview
Every Spanish is either masculine or feminine - it's like each word has a ! The good news? There's a simple pattern that works most of the time.
The Basic Rule
-o = Masculineel libro(the book)
-a = Femininela mesa(the table)
This pattern works for about 90% of Spanish nouns!
Articles Show Gender
Masculine
el = the
un = a/an
Feminine
la = the
una = a/an
Structure & Formation
Let's practice with everyday words you'll use from day one!
Masculine (-o ending)
el perro
the dog
el niño
the boy
el vaso
the glass
Feminine (-a ending)
la casa
the house
la niña
the girl
la silla
the chair
Three Important Exceptions to Remember
These common words break the rules - memorise them!
el día
the day
Ends in -a but masculine!
la mano
the hand
Ends in -o but feminine!
el problema
the problem
Ends in -a but masculine!
Advanced Patterns & Professions
More Ending Patterns
- -ción, -sión: Always feminine (la nación, la televisión)
- -dad, -tad: Always feminine (la ciudad, la libertad)
- -ma, -ta: Often masculine from Greek (el problema, el sistema, el tema)
- -ista: Same form for both genders (el/la artista, el/la dentista)
Profession Transformations
-or → -ora:
el profesor → la profesora
el doctor → la doctora
Special changes:
el actor → la actriz
el rey → la reina
More Exceptions
- Feminine despite -o: la foto, la moto, la radio
- Masculine despite -a: el mapa, el planeta, el clima
- Variable -e endings: Need memorisation (el coche, la leche)
Examples
Masculine Examples (el)
Ends in -o
el libro
the book
Ends in -o
el perro
the dog
Ends in -o
el baño
the bathroom
Consonant ending
el pan
the bread
Consonant ending
el lápiz
the pencil
Exception!
el día
the day
Feminine Examples (la)
Ends in -a
la casa
the house
Ends in -a
la mesa
the table
Ends in -a
la puerta
the door
Ends in -a
la escuela
the school
Consonant ending
la flor
the flower
Exception!
la mano
the hand
Important Exceptions
Masc. despite -a
el día
the day
Fem. despite -o
la mano
the hand
Masc. Greek origin
el problema
the problem
Masc. Greek origin
el mapa
the map
Fem. (shortened)
la foto
the photo
Fem. uses el
el agua
the water
Special Case: el agua
The word 'agua' is actually feminine, but we say 'el agua' (not 'la agua') to avoid the awkward 'la a-' sound. It's still a feminine word though: el agua fría (the cold water - fría is feminine!).
Download Study Guide
Want to study offline? Download this complete lesson as a PDF!
📖Want to go deeper?
We have an in-depth article that explores this topic further:
Common Mistakes
Gender Mistakes to Avoid
Assuming -a = feminine
Wrong: la problema
Correct: el problema
Some -a words are masculine!
Forgetting exceptions
Wrong: el mano
Correct: la mano
Memorise the common exceptions!
Wrong article choice
Wrong: un casa
Correct: una casa
Articles must match noun gender!
Mixing up similar words
Wrong: la foto es bonito
Correct: la foto es bonita
Adjectives must agree with gender!
Remember: Gender Affects Everything!
Articles (el/la, un/una) and adjectives must all match the noun's gender. When you learn a new noun, always learn it with its article - say "la casa" not just "casa".
Quick Test
Test your ability to identify Spanish noun genders!
1. What gender is 'casa' (house)?
2. Which article goes with 'libro' (book)?
3. What gender is 'mesa' (table)?
4. Which article goes with 'perro' (dog)?
5. Important exception! What's the gender of 'día' (day)?
6. Another exception! What's the gender of 'mano' (hand)?
7. Which article goes with 'puerta' (door)?
8. Which article goes with 'lápiz' (pencil)?
Want more practice? Try our interactive fill-in-the-blank exercises to master articles and noun gender in context!