Masculine. Feminine.
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.
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