In Spanish, there are some nouns called epicene nouns referring to living things that have an invariable gender. This means that the gender of the noun is fixed, and the same noun is used to refer to males and females. Most of these nouns refer to people or undomesticated animals.
For example, the Spanish noun
Spanish Epicene – Invariable Gender
Referring to Animals
Animal names such as
| ALWAYS MASCULINE NOUN | ALWAYS FEMININE NOUN |
If you wish to distinguish between males and females of animal names that fall within this category, then you can simply clarify by using the words
| MALE ANIMAL | FEMALE ANIMAL |
El lagarto macho es más grande que el lagarto hembra.
The male lizard is bigger than the female lizard.
El delfín hembra juega con los niños humanos más que el delfín macho.
The female dolphin plays with human children more than the male dolphin.
La rana macho duerme por el día. La rana hembra duerme por la noche.
The male frog sleeps during the day. The female frog sleeps at night.
Las jirafas macho son más rápidas que las jirafas hembra.
Male giraffes are faster than female giraffes.
La araña hembra es más peligrosa que la araña macho.
The female spider is more dangerous than the male spider.
El tucán macho es más ruidoso que el tucán hembra.
The male toucan is noisier than the female toucan.
El mapache hembra es más pequeño que el mapache macho.
The female raccoon is smaller than the male raccoon.
Referring to People
There are a few Spanish nouns referring to people with invariable gender. The Spanish nouns
| ALWAYS MASCULINE NOUN | ALWAYS FEMININE NOUN |
¡Es un genio! Todos gritamos cuando vemos a esa actriz en el escenario.
She is a genius! We all shout when we see that actress on stage.
Mi padre es una persona tranquila y educada.
My father is a calm, well-mannered person.
El personaje principal de la novela es una mujer de veinte años.
The main character in the novel is a 20-year-old woman.
El señor Torres está aquí. Es una de las víctimas del accidente de coche.
Mr. Torres is here. He’s one of the victims of the car crash.
El miembro más importante deja el grupo.
The most important member is out of the band.
En su libro de ciencia ficción, Luis habla de criaturas extrañas.
In his science-fiction book, Luis talks about strange creatures.
Exercises
Now let’s do some exercises to practice these Spanish nouns that have invariable gender.