We use nouns (sustantivos) to describe people, places, things, and concrete or abstract concepts. In Spanish grammar, nouns are classified by gender as masculine or feminine.
Typically, we can identify the gender of a noun in Spanish by the noun ending, however, there are some exceptions.
Spanish
English
El libro
Book
La historia
History
Masculine Nouns
Rule 1: Nouns ending in -o, an accented vowel, -or, or -aje are usually masculine.
Spanish
English
el sofá
sofa
Note: There are exceptions - other noun endings and noun categories that are also considered masculine. Here are some of them:
- nouns of Greek origin ending in -a, -ma
Spanish
English
el poema
poem
- nouns ending in -ambre
Spanish
English
el hambre
hunger
- infinitives as used as nouns
Spanish
English
el viajar
traveling
- months and days of the week
Spanish
English
el septiembre
September
- numbers
Spanish
English
el siete
seven
- geographical names of rivers, lakes, oceans, and mountains (because el río, el lago, el océano, and el monte are masculine)
Spanish
English
los Himalayas
the Himalayas
- compound nouns formed by following a verb with a noun
Spanish
English
el rascacielos
skyscraper
- names of the chemical elements (except for la plata (silver)
Spanish
English
el cinc
zinc
- foreign words adopted into the Spanish language (except for the foreign words related in meaning to a Spanish feminine word)
Spanish
English
el marketing
marketing
Feminine Nouns
Rule 2: Nouns ending in -a, -ción, -sión, -ía, -itis, -za, or -dad are usually feminine.
Spanish
English
la felicidad
happiness
Note: There are exceptions - other noun endings and noun categories that are also considered feminine. Here are some of them:
- letters
Spanish
English
la o
o
- names of islands (because la isla is feminine)
Spanish
English
las Canarias
Canary Islands
- names of companies (because la compañía (company), sociedad anónima (corporation), corporación (corporation), and empresa (business) are feminine)
Spanish
English
la Microsoft
Microsoft
Additional Rules
Rule 3: Abbreviations and acronyms typically use the gender of the main noun of what the shortened version stands for.
Spanish
English
la NASA
NASA
Rule 4: Two-word nouns carry the gender of the first noun.
Spanish
English
el sitio web
website
Rule 5: Words that are a shorter form of another word or of a phrase keep the gender of the initial word or of the main noun in the phrase.
Spanish
English
la disco
disco
Quiz
1/4
Identify the gender of a noun. nación (nation)
0
correct answers.