In the Spanish language the name makes a difference between masculine and feminine
There are nouns that change gender depending on the final vowel (desinence) and there are nouns that are always masculine or feminine. There are also nouns that are the same for masculine and feminine and are differentiated only by the article. Finally, there are ambiguous nouns, which are neither masculine nor feminine.
- Nouns that change gender depending on the final vowel (desinence)
In this type of noun, the final vowel is usually «o» for the masculine and «a» for the feminine:
Masculine Feminine
niño niña
gato gata
chico chica
Este perro se llama Max y esta perra se llama Dina.
It a can also happen that the final vowel is «e» for the male and «a» for the female:
Masculine Feminine
jefe jefa
nene nena
duque duquesa
El conde regaló un anillo a la condesa
There are also nouns that have no desinence (final vowel) in the masculine but add a vowel in the feminine:
Masculine Feminine
concejal concejala
señor señora
cazador cazadora
El profesor entregó el cuaderno a la profesora
2. Nouns that are always masculine or feminine
They are many and we can identify them by the article or adjective that accompanies them
Always masculine Always feminine
césped pared
amanecer canción
camino cocina
El árbol es muy alto (masculine)*
La crisis es muy profunda (feminine)*
*Adjectives always agree in gender and in number with the noun they describe:
El gato blanco (masculino/singular)
La gata blanca (femenino/singular)
Los gatos blancos (masculino/plural)
Las gatas blancas (femenino/plural)
3. Nouns that are the same for the masculine and feminine and differ only by the article
Masculine Feminine
el estudiante la estudiante
el artista la artista
el testigo la testigo
El pianista español interpretó una pieza con la pianista británica
4. Ambiguous nouns, which are neither masculine nor feminine
Masculine and Feminine
el mar / la mar
el acné / la acné
There are a few strange nouns that are masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural (languages have these things…):
El arte / las artes plásticas
5. Animals
There are many animal names that do not change grammatical gender regardless of the sex of the animal: ardilla (squirrel), hipopótamo (hippopotamus), tiburón (shark), pantera (panther), cuervo (crow)…
Masculine Feminine
la ardilla macho la ardilla hembra
el tiburón macho el tiburón hembra
6. Nouns that differentiate masculine and feminine with different words
In some nouns masculine and feminine are not differentiated by a final vowel (desinence) or by the article that accompanies them. They have different words according to gender.
Masculine Feminine
padre madre
yerno nuera
hombre mujer
caballo yegua
macho hembra
padrino madrina
TIP:
At Escribe en Español we don’t like to learn lists by heart, but if you are able to learn this one, you will know how to distinguish most of the masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish.
Masculine nouns end in:
O (gato)
L (árbol)
N (camaleón)
E (carruaje)
R (actor)
S (martes)
But there are some exceptions: el pie – el día – el lápiz – el sofá – el camión – el corazón
Feminine nouns end in:
A (gata)
D (edad)
ON (oración)
Z (actriz)
IS (crisis)
IE (barbarie)
UMBRE (muchedumbre)
But there are some exceptions: la cárcel – la clase – la flor – la gente – la imagen – la noche – la nieve – la parte – la mano – la leche – la madre – la mujer
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