Noun gender
A1 El género del sustantivo 1 / 49
In short
Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine. As a rule of thumb, nouns ending in -o are masculine (take el) and those in -a are feminine (take la) - but the gender is part of the word, so learn each noun with its article.
The rule
Gender decides the article (el / la) and, later, every adjective and pronoun that agrees with the noun. Getting it right from day one saves errors everywhere else, so memorize a noun with its article: not libro but el libro.
Step 1 - The -o / -a default. Most nouns follow it:
- masculine, -o: el libro, el niño, el dinero.
- feminine, -a: la casa, la mesa, la palabra.
Step 2 - Learn the common exceptions.
- Masculine but ending in -a: el día, el mapa, el sofá, and Greek-origin words in -ma: el problema, el tema, el idioma, el sistema, el programa, el clima.
- Feminine but ending in -o: la mano, plus the shortened words la foto (from fotografía) and la moto (from motocicleta).
Step 3 - Endings that fix the gender regardless of the last vowel:
- feminine: -ción / -sión (la canción, la televisión), -dad / -tad (la ciudad, la libertad), -umbre (la costumbre).
- masculine: -or (el amor, el color), -aje (el viaje, el garaje), -ma of Greek origin (see above).
People and professions. For living beings the gender matches the sex, often -o -> -a: el niño / la niña, el profesor / la profesora, el gato / la gata. Some person nouns in -e add -a too: el jefe / la jefa, el dependiente / la dependienta - learn these with their pair, because the -ista / -ante nouns below keep one form.
Invariable -ista / -ante. Nouns in -ista, and many in -ante, keep one form for both sexes - only the article changes: el/la artista, el/la turista, el/la estudiante, el/la cantante.
Forms & patterns
The default and its article:
| Gender | Typical ending | Article | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | -o | el | el libro, el niño |
| feminine | -a | la | la casa, la niña |
Gender fixed by the ending:
| Ending | Gender | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ción, -sión | feminine | la nación, la decisión |
| -dad, -tad | feminine | la verdad, la amistad |
| -umbre | feminine | la costumbre, la cumbre |
| -or | masculine | el calor, el motor |
| -aje | masculine | el paisaje, el equipaje |
| -ma (Greek) | masculine | el problema, el sistema |
Exceptions to memorize:
| Word | Gender | Note |
|---|---|---|
| el día, el mapa, el sofá | masculine | despite the -a |
| el problema, el tema, el idioma | masculine | Greek -ma |
| la mano | feminine | despite the -o |
| la foto, la moto | feminine | short for -grafía / -cicleta |
Examples
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| El libro está en la mesa. | The book is on the table. |
| La ciudad es muy grande. | The city is very big. |
| Tengo un problema con el coche. | I have a problem with the car. |
| La mano derecha me duele. | My right hand hurts. |
| El día está soleado. | The day is sunny. |
| La canción es muy bonita. | The song is very pretty. |
| El estudiante y la estudiante hablan. | The (male) and (female) student talk. |
| Saco una foto con la moto. | I take a photo with the motorbike. |
Common mistakes
- la problema -> el problema - Greek-origin nouns in -ma (problema, tema, sistema, idioma) are masculine.
- el mano -> la mano - la mano is feminine despite the -o (plural las manos).
- el foto -> la foto - it is short for la fotografía, so it stays feminine (same with la moto).
- la día -> el día - el día, el mapa and el sofá are masculine even though they end in -a.
- la color / la amor -> el color, el amor - nouns ending in -or are masculine.
Tips
- Always store a new noun with its article (el / la), just as a dictionary does - the gender travels with the word.
- Six endings settle thousands of nouns: -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, -umbre are feminine; -or, -aje are masculine.
- Mnemonic for the tricky masculines in -a: “el día, el mapa, el problema” - day, map, problem.
- Gender is grammatical, not literal: la mesa (table) is feminine only in grammar - it says nothing about the object.
- Nail the gender now - articles, adjectives, and pronouns will all have to agree with it in later lessons.
- The gender travels to the pronoun as well: el mapa -> lo compro, la foto -> la guardo - the ending does not choose lo or la, the gender does.