MASCULINE.FEMININE.
1. THE BASIC RULE.
Every noun in Spanish has a gender. It is either masculine or feminine.
Basic rule
If the noun ends in -o: It is masculine
e.g. libro, perro
If the noun ends in -a: It is feminine
e.g. mesa, silla
BE CAFERUL! THERE ARE EXCEPTION
The following nouns end in -a but are Masculine:
i. Words of greek origin ending in -ma like el clima, el idioma, el poema, el programa, el problema, el esquema, el sistema, el tema.
ii. Name of colours likeel naranja, el Lila.
iii.El día, El mapa, El planeta, El sofá.
The following nouns end in -o but are Feminine:
i. Nouns ending in -o that come from shortened forms of feminine words are feminine like moto(cicleta), foto(grafía), quimio(terapia), crono(metrada).
ii. libido, mano, nao y seo.
2. OTHER RULES
This isn’t all. There are lots of nouns not ending in -o or -a.
MASCULINE
-aje
abordaje, garaje, paraje, peaje
-án, -én, -ín, -ón, -ún
chaflán, andén, espadín, camión, atún
-ar, -er, -or
colmenar, taller, corredor
-ate, -ete, -ote
arrate, cachete, cogote
-és
arnés, ciprés, envés
-miento
cumplimiento, sufrimiento
Feminine
-ción, -sión, -zón
ración, presión, razón
-dad
brevedad, santidad
-ed
pared, red, sed
-ez,-eza
vez, niñez, pereza, torpeza, tristeza
-ia, ie
gloria, historia, barbarie, efigie
-ncia
prestancia, provincia, prudencia
-tud
acritud, pulcritud, quietud, virtud
¡BE CAFERUL! Sometimes the masculine or feminine form of a word doesn't reflect a difference in sex, but rather other distinctions, such as different meanings, sizes, or a distinction between a fruit and its tree.
3. GENDER VARIATIONS
i. There are some nouns in Spanish that their meaning changes based on if it is masculine or feminine. For example, El cura means The priest while La cura means the Recovery.
El cólera: cholera | La cólera: fury, rage
El capital: resources | La capital: capital
El coma: coma | La coma: comma
El cometa: comet | La cometa: kite
El corte: cut, edge | La corte: court
El editorial: leading article | La editorial: publisher
El final: end | La final: the final in a competition
El frente: front | La frente: forehead
El mañana: tomorrow, future | La mañana: morning
El orden: order | La orden: command
EL parte: notice, report | La parte: part
ii. The gender endings -o / -a can mark differences in meaning unrelated to sex, such as the difference between a tree and its fruit or flower, or variations in size.
Almendro: almond tree | Almendra: almond
Cerezo: cherry tree | Cereza: ciruelo
Ciruelo: plum tree | Ciruela: plum
Manzano: apple tree | manzana: apple
Tilo: tilia|Tila: linden blossom
barco: ship | barca: small boat
bolso: purse | bolsa: bag
cesto:big basket | cesta: basket
huerto: vegetable garden | huerta: bigger vegetable
madero: lumber, log | madera: wood
río:river | ría: estuary
iii. Nouns of ambiguous gender
el / la mar (plural, los mares), el / la maratón, el / la dote (plural, las dotes), el / la linde, el / la calor, el / la interrogante.
4. PEOPLE + ANIMALS
The Gender of People Nouns
I. Sometimes, the distinction between masculine and feminine is shown by the noun ending. The basic rule is: if the noun ends in -o, it's masculine; if it ends in -a, it's feminine. For example:
El chico: boy | La chica: girl
There are many other pairs of nouns where the ending changes to indicate gender, such as:
El alcalde: mayor (male) | La alcaldesa: mayor (female)
El duque: duke | La duquesa: duchess
El príncipe: prince | La princesa: princess
El papa: pope | La papisa: female pope (rare, mostly historical)
El profeta: prophet | La profetisa: prophetess
El sacerdote: priest | La sacerdotisa: priestess
El actor: actor | La actriz: actress
El emperador: emperor | La emperatriz: empress
El héroe: hero | La heroína: heroine
El zar: czar | La zarina: czarina
El oso: (male bear) | La osa: (female bear)
Other times, the feminine form is different and needs to be memorized:
El gallo: rooster | La gallina: hen
El tigre: tiger | La tigresa: tigress
II. Heteronyms: Sometimes, masculine and feminine forms are expressed using completely different words, called heteronyms. For example:
El hombre: man | La mujer: woman
El padre: father | La madre: mother
El caballo: stallion | La yegua: mare
El toro: bull | La vaca: cow
III. Epicene Nouns: Nouns that are inherently masculine or feminine and refer to people or animals without distinguishing their sex are called epicenes.
These are especially frequent with animal and plant names:
Animals:
El avestruz: ostrich
La cobra: cobra
La jineta: genet
El buitre: vulture
El calamar: squid
El caracol: snail
El cocodrilo: crocodile
El dinosaurio: dinosaur
El jabalí: wild boar
El pulpo: octopus
La almeja: clam
La cigüeña: stork
La codorniz: quail
La gamba: shrimp
La hormiga: ant
La jirafa: giraffe
La mosca: fly
La tortuga: turtle
Plants:
El acebo: holly
El espárrago: asparagus
La palmera: palm tree
El plátano: banana tree
El sauce: willow
Some people nouns also fall into this category:
La autoridad: authority
El emisor: sender/emitter
La persona: person
How do you know if the animal is male or female?
You can add macho (male) or hembra (female) after the noun:
El delfín macho: male dolphin
La tortuga hembra: female turtle
For people, to indicate the sex of a person referred to by an epicene noun, you can add words like masculino/femenino (male/female) or varón/mujer (man/woman):
Los personajes femeninos: female characters
Las víctimas masculinas: male victims
Los parientes varones: male relatives
IV. Common Gender Nouns: In some cases, the same noun form is used for both masculine and feminine. The gender is marked only by the article. For example:
El estudiante: the male student | La estudiante: the female student
El amante: the male lover | La amante: the female lover
El artista: the male artist | La artista: the female artist
El cónyuge: the husband/spouse | La cónyuge: the wife/spouse
These nouns are called common gender nouns because their endings don’t change; only the article signals whether the noun refers to a male or female.
GENDER IN ANIMALS
1. Some animals have different words for male and female.
Examples:
el caballo (stallion), la yegua (mare)
el toro (bull), la vaca (cow)
2. For some animals, you can create the feminine form by changing the ending from -o to -a.
Example:
oso (male bear), osa (female bear)
Other times, the feminine form is different and needs to be memorized:
el gallo (rooster), la gallina (hen)
el tigre (tiger), la tigresa (tigress)
3. Some nouns are used for both the male and female of the species.
Masculine examples: el buitre (vulture), el calamar (squid), el caracol (snail), el cocodrilo (crocodile), el dinosaurio (dinosaur), el jabalí (wild boar), el pulpo (octopus)
Feminine examples: la almeja (clam), la cigüeña (stork), la codorniz (quail), la gamba (shrimp), la hormiga (ant), la jirafa (giraffe), la mosca (fly), la tortuga (turtle)
