In everyday life, we use the words gender and sex: both can refer to the state of being male or female. In terms of grammar, all Spanish nouns have gender. However, grammatical gender has nothing to do with physical appearance, and it applies to all nouns: living beings, inanimate objects and even feelings. In this article, we are going to review the gender of Spanish nouns.
Gender of Spanish Nouns
All nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine. You can usually identify the gender of Spanish nouns in one of two ways: by its ending letters or by its meaning.
Usually (not always) if a word ends in –
| MASCULINE | FEMININE |
What is so feminine about a house and what is so masculine about a book? Nothing! It’s a grammatical rule. It’s not related to the appearance: it’s simply grammatical information.
You may find it bizarre at the beginning – or discouraging. Give yourself time. Here are some general rules that will help you master the gender of Spanish nouns.
Masculine Nouns
For nouns that refer to people, it is very easy to determine the gender of the noun. If the noun refers to a male person, then the noun is masculine. Some masculine nouns that refer to people are:
hermano (brother)primo (male cousin)tío (uncle)
If it is an inanimate noun, then you should pay attention to its ending. As a general rule, nouns that end in –
El abrigo está encima del banco.
The coat is on the bench.
¿El libro es de Laura?
Does the book belong to Laura?
You should remember that adjectives, determiners or quantifiers should agree with the noun they refer to.
Nuestro pueblo es bonito.
Our town is beautiful.
Nuestra tienda es bonita.
Our store is beautiful.
More Masculine Endings
Other common endings for masculine nouns are –
| ENDING | MASCULINE NOUN |
| – | |
| – (except – | |
| – | |
| – | |
| – |
El taller está cerrado por la tarde.
The repair shop is closed in the afternoon.
Este balón es rojo y blanco.
This ball is red and white.
Hay un programa interesante en la televisión.
There is a interesting program on TV.
Nosotras estamos hablando en el restaurante.
We are talking at the restaurant.
Hacemos un viaje con la familia en verano.
We take a trip with family this summer.
Feminine Nouns
Let’s continue reviewing the gender of Spanish nouns. This time let’s focus to animate feminine nouns. If the noun refers to a female person, then the noun is feminine. For example, some feminine nouns that refer to people are:
hermana (sister)prima (female cousin)tía (aunt)
If it is an inanimate noun, then you should pay attention to its ending. As a general rule (as stated above), nouns that end in –
La ventana de la habitación está abierta.
The room’s window is open.
Hay mucha gente en la terraza.
There are a lot of people in the terrace.
More Feminine Endings
Other common endings for feminine nouns are –
| ENDING | FEMININE NOUN |
| – | |
| – | |
| – |
Mi ciudad favorita es Madrid.
My favorite city is Madrid.
¿Te gusta esta canción de Pablo?
Do you like this Pablo’s song?
Vamos a subir a la cumbre mañana.
We are going to get to the summit tomorrow.
There are more endings to determine the gender of Spanish nouns. However, we will learn them in a separate article. Remember it is an important grammar part since Spanish adjectives or determiners should agree in gender and number with the noun.
Exercises
Now let’s do some exercises to practice the gender of Spanish nouns.