Since you are reading this post, it’s because you presumably find Spanish grammar a little puzzling.
If it makes you feel any better, let me just say you are not the only one.
Though an excellent choice as a second language, Spanish does pose certain challenges for native English speakers…
…with gender rules being one of them.
Trust me, I feel you.
It is one thing to agree with the fact that animated creatures might be male and female, but to wrap your mind around the idea that a chair can be feminine and a pencil masculine is a whole new level of crazy.
Worry no more.
I’ll gladly offer some tips that will help you plow your way through grammar and eventually master Spanish Gender Rules
1. All nouns in Spanish have gender
No matter how much your logical brain may disagree with that, Spanish grammar is very firm about this.
A few words of explanation for those who are not very familiar with grammar tense:
A NOUN is a word used to identify or to name a person, an animal, an object, a concept, or a place.
“Teacher” is a noun that identifies a person.
“Dog” is a noun that identifies an animal.
“Chair” will help you name an object, “happiness” is a noun describing a concept, and “city” is a place.
Even though it is hard to think about happiness, city, or pencil in terms of masculine or feminine, these words in Spanish do have a gender assigned.
“Silla,” which means “chair,” is a masculine noun.
“Felicidad” – “happiness” is feminine, and so is “ciudad” (“city”).
2. Articles help identify the correct gender of nouns in Spanish
You are probably asking yourself: “How the heck am I going to know if a certain noun is masculine and feminine.”
Luckily, one of the similarities between English and Spanish lies in the use of articles that typically accompany nouns.
In English, there are two categories of articles:
- The definite article: “THE”
- The indefinite article: “A” or “AN”
Spanish grammar is a little more complex in this sense. Not only does it distinguish between definite and indefinite articles, but it also provides you with the masculine and the feminine alternative.
The tables below summarizes your options very well:
- Indefinite Articles in Spanish:
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| Singular | un | una |
| Plural | unos | unas |
- Definite Articles in Spanish:
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| Singular | el | la |
| Plural | los | las |
By looking at the article, you will be able to determine whether a certain Spanish noun is masculine or feminine.
Check out these few examples below:
🇪🇸 Necesito un paraguas nuevo. – “Paraguas” uses the article “UN”, hence it is masculine
🇬🇧 I need a new umbrella.
🇪🇸 Test Your Spanish Knowledge 🇪🇸
🇪🇸 Busco una lavadora – “Lavadora” uses the article “UNA”, hence it is feminine
🇬🇧 I am looking for a washing machine.
🇪🇸 El espejo del baño está sucio. – “Espejo” uses the article “EL”, hence it is masculine
🇬🇧 The bathroom mirror is dirty.
🇪🇸 ¿Dónde está la salida? – “Salida” uses the article “LA”, hence it is feminine
🇬🇧 Where is the exit?
🇪🇸 Busco unos papeles. “Papeles” uses the article “UNOS”, hence it is masculine and plural.
🇬🇧 I am looking for some papers.
🇪🇸 Hay unas cartas para tí – “Cartas” uses the article “UNAS”, hence it is feminine and plural.
🇬🇧 There are some letters for you.
🇪🇸 Todos los pantalones que tengo me quedan cortos . “Pantalones” uses the article “LOS”, hence it is masculine and plural
🇬🇧 All the pants I have are too short.
🇪🇸 Las fotos del viaje salieron bien. “Fotos” uses the article “LAS”, hence it is feminine and plural
🇬🇧 The photos from the trip came out OK.
Examples of Spanish nouns with their corresponding indefinite articles
Ok, so it is fairly easy to recognize the gender of a noun by looking at the article that goes before it.
But what if you have to write or say something? How will you know what article to use?
Here comes my next piece of advice:
3. Check the noun gender in a dictionary or a translator
Perhaps you are not aware of this, but the easiest way of verifying if a given noun is masculine or feminine is looking it up in a dictionary or – even faster – in an online translator.
Have a look for yourself:
Can you see that letter “f” that I’ve marked in yellow? It stands for “feminine,” which indicates the gender of the Spanish word “mesa” – “table.”
As you can easily guess, the masculine gender is indicated by the letter “m,” just like here:
| IMPORTANT: When looking up a word in a dictionary, always use its SINGULAR form. |
4. When learning a new noun, try to memorize its gender
I always give this tip to my students.
It will make your life so much easier if you learn new nouns together with the article that goes with them.
Let’s suppose you’re studying body parts in Spanish:
Instead of learning only “mano” – “hand,” make sure to remember its “una mano” – feminine.
Trust me; your effort will pay off and help you avoid some of the most common “gringo” gender mistakes.
Why don’t we give it a try right away? Here’s a list of 20+ nouns in Spanish and their corresponding genders (in singular and plural):
THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE
| UN – singular masculine | UNA – singular feminine |
| un lápiz – a pencil un tenedor – a fork un castillo – a castle un espejo – a mirror un sillón – an armchair un avión – a plane un árbol – a tree un ojo – an eye un perro – a dog un banco – a bank un río – a river | una mochila – a backpack una cuchara – a spoon una casa – a house una repisa – a shelf una puerta – a door una bicicleta – a bike una manzana – an apple una flor – a flower una jirafa – a giraffe una farmacia – a pharmacy una montaña – a mountain |
| UNOS – plural masculine | UNAS – plural feminine |
| unos lápices – pens unos tenedores – forks unos castillos – castles unos espejos – mirrors unos sillones – armchairs unos aviones – planes unos árboles – trees unos ojos – eyes unos perros – dogs unos banco – banks unos ríos – rivers | unas mochilas – backpacks unas cucharas – spoons unas casas – houses unas repisas – shelves unas puertas – doors unas bicicletas – bikes unas manzanas – apples unas flores – flowers unas jirafas – giraffes unas farmacias – pharmacies unas montañas – mountains |
Loyal to the“practice makes perfect” premise, let’s see how these nouns would sound in a real-life context:
🇪🇸 ¿Tienes un lápiz?
🇬🇧 Do you have a pen?
🇪🇸 Necesito comprar un sillón.
🇬🇧 I need to buy an armchair.
🇪🇸 ¿Cuánto cuesta una bicicleta?
🇬🇧 How much does a bike cost?
🇪🇸 Ayer vi una jirafa en el zoológico.
🇬🇧 I saw a giraffe in the zoo yesterday.
🇪🇸 En Francia hay unos castillos muy hermosos.
🇬🇧 There are (some) beautiful castles in France.
🇪🇸 Quiero plantar unos árboles frutales en mi jardín.
🇬🇧 I want to plant (some) fruit trees in my garden.
🇪🇸 Están construyendo unas casas nuevas cerca de donde vivo.
🇬🇧 They are building (some) new houses close to where I live.
🇪🇸 He comprado unas flores para tu cumpleaños.
🇬🇧 I have bought (some) flowers for your birthday.
THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
| EL – singular masculine | LA – singular feminine |
| el lápiz – the pencil el tenedor – the fork el castillo – the castle el espejo – the mirror el sillón – the armchair el avión – the plane el árbol – the tree el ojo – the eye el perro – the dog el banco – the bank el río – the river | la mochila – a backpack la cuchara – a spoon la casa – a house la repisa – a shelf la puerta – a door la bicicleta – a bike la manzana – an apple la flor – a flower la jirafa – a giraffe la farmacia – a pharmacy la montaña – a mountain |
| LOS – plural masculine | LAS – plural feminine |
| los lápices – pens los tenedores – forks los castillos – castles los espejos – mirrors los sillones – armchairs los aviones – planes los árboles – trees los ojos – eyes los perros – dogs los banco – banks los ríos – rivers | las mochilas – backpacks las cucharas – spoons las casas – houses las repisas – shelves las puertas – doors las bicicletas – bikes las manzanas – apples las flores – flowers las jirafas – giraffes las farmacias – pharmacies las montañas – mountains |
🇪🇸 ¿Me puedes devolver el lápiz que te presté ayer?
🇬🇧 Can you return the pencil I lent you yesterday?
🇪🇸 El sillón amarillo me gusta mucho.
🇬🇧 I like the yellow armchair a lot.
🇪🇸 La bicicleta en la vitrina no está a la venta.
🇬🇧 The bicycle in the shop window is not for sale.
🇪🇸 La jirafa que vimos está enferma.
🇬🇧 The giraffe we saw is sick.
🇪🇸 He visitado todos los castillos en el sur de Francia.
🇬🇧 I’ve visited all the castles in the south of France.
🇪🇸 Los árboles en mi jardín aún no dan fruta.
🇬🇧 The trees in my garden don’t produce fruit yet.
🇪🇸 Todas las casas en mi calle son blancas.
🇬🇧 All the houses on my street are white.
🇪🇸 Las flores que me regalaste huelen muy rico.
🇬🇧 The flowers you gave me smell delicious.
It is not the time nor place to expand on when to use the definite article and when to use the indefinite one. Plus, if you are a native English speaker, it should – with only a few exceptions – come rather intuitively.
5. Most Nouns ending in “- O” are masculine
I get it; keeping a dictionary in your pocket wherever you go or relying solely on your memory are probably not the most convenient ways of making sure you follow the correct grammar.
Are there any Spanish Gender Rules I can learn?
Luckily there are. The first one being: if you see a noun whose last letter is “O,” it is most likely masculine.
Here’s a bunch of examples:
- un conejo – a rabbit
- un banco – a bank
- un gato – a cat
- un cuchillo – a knife
- un carro – a car
- un teléfono – a phone
- un bolsillo – a pocket
- un abrigo – a coat
- un huevo – an egg
- un concierto – a concert
- un museo – a museum
- un escritorio – a desk
- un baño – a bathroom
See? All of them are masculine. Unfortunately, no rule holds 100% of the time, and there are several Spanish nouns that end in “O” and are, however, feminine:
- una foto – a photo
- una moto – a motorbike
- una radio – a radio
- una mano – a hand
So, while you can say:
🇪🇸 Mi hermana quiere un conejo para su cumpleaños.
🇬🇧 My sister wants a bunny for her birthday.
you will also have to remember that “foto” is feminine, just like here:
🇪🇸 ¿Me puedes sacar una foto frente a la catedral?
🇬🇧 Can you take a photo of me in front of the cathedral?
Is the letter “O” the only one to indicate the masculine gender in Spanish?
Luckily, there are more:
# 6: Other common endings that indicate masculine gender:
Among some other noun endings that typically indicate the masculine gender there are:
- – aje (e.g. el viaje, el traje)
- – ambre (e.g. el hambre, el calambre)
- – ar (el lugar, el celular, el ejemplar)
- – er (el alquiler, el canciller, el alfiler)
- – or / (el amor, el velador, el dolor)
- – en / én (el tren, el abdomen, el almacén)
- – ín (el maletín, el boletín, el monopatín)
- – ón (el camión, el polerón, el balcón)
- – ún (el el atún, el betún)
- – ate (el tomate, el aguacate, el yate)
- – ete (el juguete, el filete, el paquete)
- – ote (el bigote, el bote, el coyote)
- – és (el estrés, el kermés, el ciempiés)
- – che (e.g. el coche, el estuche, el peluche)
- – l (el papel, el angel, el animal)
- – miento (el pensamiento, el sufrimiento)
🇪🇸 Para su compleaños Pablo pidió un peluche y un camión de juguete.
🇬🇧 Pablo asked for a stuffed animal and a toy truck for his birthday.
🇪🇸 Siento un dolor fuerte en el abdomen.
🇬🇧 I feel strong pain in my abdomen.
🇪🇸 Ayer encontré un maletín en el tren.
🇬🇧 Yesterday I found a briefcase on the train.
🇪🇸 Busca un alfiler de gancho en el estuche que guardo en el velador.
🇬🇧 Look for a safety pin in the case I keep on the night table.
How about feminine nouns? What are some common endings that follow Spanish rules for this gender?
# 7: Most Nouns Ending in “-A” are Feminine
Just like “O” is the staple ending for the masculine form, the letter “A” at the end of a noun offers a high probability of that word being feminine:
- una habitación – a room
- una planta – a plant
- una silla – a chair
- una ventana – a window
- una toalla – a towel
- una visita – a visit
- una ciruela – a plum
- una chaqueta – a jacket
- una mermelada – a jam
- una impresora – a printer
- una taza – a cup
exceptions:
- un mapa – a map
- un día – a day
- un planeta – a planet
- un cura – a priest
- un programa– a program
- un problema – a problem
So, it is grammatically correct to ask:
🇪🇸 ¿Tienes una toalla seca?
🇬🇧 Do you have a dry towel?
but the word “planeta” will require the masculine article “UN”, or “EL”, depending on the context:
🇪🇸 El Sol no es un planeta, es una estrella.
🇬🇧 The Sun is not a planet; it is a star.
# 8: Nouns ending in “-ción”, “-sión”, “-ad”, “-tud”, “-umbre”, “-cia”, “-ed” are feminine
Other typically feminine noun endings in Spanish are:
- – ción (e.g. la reunión, la decisión, la canción)
- – sión (e.g. la precisión, la tensión, la pensión)
- – ad (la lealtad, la hermandad, la mitad)
- – tud (la multitud, la esclavitud, la plenitud)
- – umbre (la costumbre, la cumbre, la legumbre)
- – cia / cía (la farmacia, la democracia, la alcancía)
- – ed (la pared, la merced, la sed)
- – z (la voz, la nariz, la vejez)
🇪🇸 He tomado una decisión importante para la vejez.
🇬🇧 I’ve made an important decision for my old age.
🇪🇸 Siento una tensión extraña en la nariz.
🇬🇧 I feel strange pressure in my nose.
🇪🇸 La alcancía se ha roto por la mitad.
🇬🇧 The piggy bank has broken in half.
A custom of the brotherhood is to sing a song at the beginning of our meetings.
Una costumbre de la hermandad es cantar una canción al comienzo de las reuniones.
By no means should you expect the rules mentioned above to be exception-free. But knowing them will be a good starting point to make an informed guess about a noun’s gender.
# 9: The adjective that accompanies a noun follows its gender and number
I have explained about Spanish adjectives at length in one of my previous posts, so this is just a quick reminder:
When you describe a noun in Spanish (its color, size, texture, the impression or opinion you have about it, etc.), make sure to adjust the form of the adjective to the described noun.
If the noun is masculine, the adjective will also be masculine.
If the noun is feminine, the adjective will have to adapt and take up the feminine form.
🇪🇸 un vestido negro – “vestido” is masculine, and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 a black dress
🇪🇸 una blusa negra – “blusa” is feminine, and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 a black dress
🇪🇸 un cuarto oscuro – “cuarto” is masculine, and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 a dark room
🇪🇸 una noche oscura – “noche” is feminine, and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 a dark night
🇪🇸 un pájaro muerto – “pájaro” is masculine, and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 a dead bird
🇪🇸 una jirafa muerta – “jirafa” is feminine and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 a dead girafe
🇪🇸 unos zapatos caros – “zapatos” is masculine and plural, and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 expensive shoes
🇪🇸 unas carteras caras – “carteras” is feminine and plural, and so is the adjective
🇬🇧 expensive handbags
# 10: A group with at least one masculine member acquires masculine gender
Imagine that you have a group of kids. Some of them are girls, and some are boys. What are Spanish gender rules for the noun “kids” in this case?
The masculine form is in order.
Whenever there is at least one masculine member of a group, the whole group “becomes” masculine.
🇪🇸 Tengo un profesor y 2 profesoras. Todos ellos son muy simpáticos.
🇬🇧 I have one male teacher and two female teachers. All of them are very nice.
🇪🇸 Mi perra tuvo 4 cachorros (2 hembras y 2 machos). Los perritos tienen hambre todo el tiempo
🇬🇧 My dog has had four puppies (2 female and two male ones). The little dogs are hungry all the time.
