Learn about Spanish genders.

Enjoy your free lesson on Spanish Genders.

Every Spanish noun is preceded by a Spanish gender - either masculine and feminine. In English they are translated as the definite article 'the', and the indefinite article, 'a'.

The: (Definite Article)
Masculine gender: Singular = el / Plural = los.
Feminine gender: Singular = la / Plural = las

A: (Indefinite Article)
Masculine gender: Singular = un / Plural = unos.
Feminine gender: Singular = una / Plural = unas

When learning Spanish genders, there are no hard and fast rules about which Spanish nouns are classified as feminine and which are masculine, however there are a few general guidelines we can follow.

Just be aware there are usually exceptions to every rule!

It is always best to learn the gender with the word. Most courses teach this but only a very few give you a method of remembering a gender as you learn a word.

With Spanish Genders, these rules generally apply:

Masculine nouns:

• Most words ending in the letter –o
el libro book
el sombrero hat
• Words referring to male people and animals.
el hombreman
el doctor male doctor
el toro bull
• Fruit trees are often masculine.
el naranjo orange tree
el manzano apple tree
• Countries not ending in –a are usually masculine.
el Chile Chile
los Estados Unidos United States
• Compound nouns (made up of two words) are masculine.
el paraguas umbrella – for + water
el sacacorchos corkscrew – pull + cork

Feminine nouns:

• Most words ending in the letter –a.
la manta blanket
la casa house
•Words referring to female people and animals.
la mujer woman
la doctora female doctor
la vaca cow
• Fruit are often feminine.
la manzana apple
la naranja orange
• Countries ending in –a are usually feminine.
la España Spain
la Suiza Switzerland
• -eza, -ión, -dad, -umbre endings are mostly feminine.
la cabeza head
la canción song
la verdad truth
la muchadumbre crowd

Sometimes, a noun may stay the same, but the Spanish gender differs depending on the sex of the person.
el / la estudiante student
el / la guía guide

Some nouns stay the same and can use both Spanish genders BUT their meanings change!
el coma coma - la coma comma
el capital money - la capital capital city
el frente front - la frente forehead
el policía policeman) - la policía police force
el final the end - la final final – of a competition
el corte cut - la corte court- royal
el orden order - la orden order, command

Contractions:
The masculine definite article el contracts with the following prepositions - a (to) and de (from).
a + el = al
al cine to the cinema
de + el = del
del cine from the cinema

So now you're thinking .... how do I remember which Spanish gender goes with which noun?

To help you learn the and assist in the recall of the Spanish genders, we have incorporated a range of innovative techniques into our multi-modal language courses.

To find out more, click on the link below.


Learn Spanish Genders the 200 Words a Day! way!


We hope that you enjoyed your Spanish Genders free lesson.

Copyright©. All rights reserved. 200 Words a Day!©, exceltra, Transcity Properties Ltd, 32 Alverton, Great Linford, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK14 5EF, United Kingdom. Contact us at info@200words-a-day.com for Spanish Genders info.

Learn Spanish the 200 Words a Day! way©, Learn French, Learn German. Spanish Genders. Learn Languages the 200 Words a Day! way© 2004-2011.

If you've seen errors in the lesson Spanish Genders please do let us know quoting "Spanish Genders-error".

Share this page:
Enjoy this page? Please pass it on. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Custom Search