Masculine and feminine nouns

A noun is a word for a person, an animal, a thing, a place or an idea: friend, cat, table, city, truth. In Spanish, every noun is either masculine or feminine. This is called its gender.

For things, gender is a grammar label, not a statement that a table is "female". It matters because other words change to match it: the is el before a masculine noun and la before a feminine one (Articles: el, la, los, las; un, una, unos, unas), and describing words change too (el coche rojo, la casa roja).

The main pattern: -o and -a

• Most nouns ending in -o are masculine: el libro (book), el perro (dog), el vaso (glass).
• Most nouns ending in -a are feminine: la casa (house), la mesa (table), la playa (beach).

• El libro es interesante.The book is interesting.
• La mesa es grande.The table is big.

Endings that are almost always feminine

• -ción, -sión: la canción (song), la televisión, la estación (station);
• -dad, -tad: la ciudad (city), la verdad (truth), la libertad (freedom).

• La canción es muy bonita.The song is very pretty.
• La ciudad es antigua.The city is old.

Exceptions to learn now

These are very common, so learn them early:

Many words ending in -ma come from Greek and are masculine: el problema, el idioma, el programa, el sistema, el tema (topic).

• El día es muy largo.The day is very long.
• El problema es difícil.The problem is difficult.
• La foto es preciosa.The photo is lovely.
• La mano de Ana es pequeña.Ana's hand is small.
• La moto es roja.The motorbike is red.

Other endings: learn the article with the noun

Nouns ending in -e or a consonant can be either gender: el coche (car) but la noche (night); el papel (paper) but la flor (flower). The only reliable method is to learn every noun together with its article: not "coche" but "el coche".

• El coche es nuevo.The car is new.
• La noche es tranquila.The night is quiet.

People

For people, gender usually follows the person:

• change -o to -a: el chico, la chica (boy, girl); el amigo, la amiga;
• add -a to a consonant: el profesor, la profesora (teacher);
• same form, only the article changes: el estudiante, la estudiante; el turista, la turista.

• Mi profesora es de Cuba.My teacher is from Cuba. (a woman)
• La estudiante es alemana.The student is German. (a woman)

Latin America

The genders are the same almost everywhere, with a few words that vary: la radio (the device) is often el radio in Mexico, Central America and some other countries.

Common mistakes

• La día, la problema: these end in -a but are masculine: el día, el problema.
• El mano: mano is feminine: la mano.
• Learning nouns without their article: then coche or noche is a guess. Always learn el coche, la noche.
• La profesor for a female teacher: say la profesora.