is homework in spanish feminine

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Translation of homework – English–Spanish dictionary

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• The kids are busy with their homework.
• My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
• "Have you got any homework tonight ?" "No."
• I got A minus for my English homework.
• For homework I want you to write an essay on endangered species .

(Translation of homework from the Cambridge English-Spanish Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translation of homework | GLOBAL English–Spanish Dictionary

(Translation of homework from the GLOBAL English-Spanish Dictionary © 2020 K Dictionaries Ltd)

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• do your homework
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What is the translation of "homework" in Spanish?

"homework" in spanish, homework {noun}.

• volume_up tarea

homeworker {noun}

• volume_up trabajador desde casa
• trabajadora desde casa

homeworking {noun}

• volume_up trabajo desde casa

do homework {vb}

• volume_up hacer tarea
• hacer deberes

Spanish translations powered by Oxford Languages

Homework noun, translations.

• open_in_new Link to source
• warning Request revision

do homework {verb}

Context sentences, english spanish contextual examples of "homework" in spanish.

These sentences come from external sources and may not be accurate. bab.la is not responsible for their content.

Monolingual examples

English how to use "homework" in a sentence, english how to use "homeworker" in a sentence, english how to use "homeworking" in a sentence, english how to use "do homework" in a sentence, english how to use "trabajador desde casa" in a sentence, english how to use "trabajo desde casa" in a sentence, english how to use "hacer tarea" in a sentence, english how to use "hacer deberes" in a sentence, collocations, "assigned homework" in spanish.

• volume_up tarea asignada

"assign homework" in Spanish

• volume_up asignar tareas
• volume_up asignar la tarea

"homework assignment" in Spanish

• volume_up asignación de tareas
• volume_up Tarea

Synonyms (English) for "homework":

• preparation
• hometown boy
• hometown crowd
• hometown discount
• hometown fans
• hometown hero
• hometown newspaper
• hometown paper
• hometown pride
• homeward journey
• homework assignment
• homework assistance
• homework completion
• homework help
• homework load
• homework session
• homeworking
• homey feeling

Translations into more languages in the bab.la English-Portuguese dictionary .

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Fluenz » Fluenz Blog » Learn Spanish » Basic Spanish » El or La? Gender in Spanish: How to know when a noun is feminine or masculine [2022]

El or La? Gender in Spanish: How to know when a noun is feminine or masculine [2022]

Every single noun in Spanish has a gender: feminine or masculine. That means you have to know when to use ‘El’ or ‘La’ for every single noun. If you have studied Spanish, you are painfully aware of this.

For English speakers, it is hard to determine when a noun is feminine or masculine simply because nouns in English have no gender.

Because gender is such an integral part of learning Spanish your best bet as an English speaker is to acquire each new word with its respective article. Our tutors at Fluenz Spanish Immersion like to explain the noun gender in this way: Think of the article almost as part of the word.

Instead of learning: libro = book , try committing to memory: EL libro = The book

Because coming from English you don’t have any reference to hold on to, sometimes our memory can only recall so much and we mix up the gender. Even though Spanish is a language of exceptions, there are a few guidelines that can help when wanting to determine if a noun is feminine or masculine. All of these rules use the ending of a word as a trick to determine its gender.

Follow this link if you want to know WHY nouns have a gender in Spanish

That said, we need to get something out of the way before diving into the rules for gender in Spanish.

Debunking the -a is Feminine, -o is Masculine myth

You’ve probably heard this one before: words ending in -a are feminine and words ending in -o are masculine.

While this is actually true for a lot of words, there are so many exceptions to this rule that it often becomes more of a problem than a solution. Very often our students at Fluenz get genders mixed up when learning new vocab because they had learned this rule of thumb. Just think of the Spanish word for “problem”: el problem a !

Now that’s a problem…

The same goes for some words that end in -o that are actually feminine: la mano , la radio , la foto , etc.

La foto , can actually shed some light into one of the rules for feminine words. Just like “photo” is an abbreviation of “photograph”,   foto  is the short way of saying fotografía .

This brings us to the first rule!

Foolproof Rules to Identify Feminine Nouns in Spanish

As you might have guessed, all of the tricks we’re going to cover use word endings to determine the gender of a word in Spanish.

ÍA – IA

Words ending in -ía and -ia

ARE ALWAYS FEMININE

• La alcancía = piggy bank
• La cobardía = cowardice
• La alcaldía = town hall
• La biología = biology
• La energía = energy
• La herejía = heresy
• La claustrofobia = claustrophobia
• La rabia = rage
• La violencia = violence
• La farmacia = pharmacy
• La discordia = discord
• La enciclopedia = Encyclopedia

Remember fotografía ? Also feminine!

One Exception:

El DIA = THE DAY “el day” is masculine and is the ONLY exception.

*People, animals and occupations have their own set of rules. It’s coming up later.

Words ending in -ara

• La cuchara = spoon
• La lámpara = lamp
• La vara = rod, stick

Words ending in -bra

• La alfombra = carpet
• La culebra = snake
• La sombra = shadow

Words ending in -cha

• La avalancha = avalanche
• La cancha = court, sportsfield
• La cosecha = harvest
• La flecha = arrow
• La trucha = trout

CIÓN and SIÓN

Words ending in -ción and -sión

*Note the C, and S

• La canción = song
• La solución = solution
• La televisión = television
• La versión = version

Words ending simply in -ión  are often masculine, as in: el camión , el avión , etc., so bear that in mind!

DAD, TAD, TUD

Words ending in -dad -tad -tud

• La verdad = truth
• La ciudad = city
• La honestidad = honesty
• La libertad = freedom
• La voluntad = will
• La juventud = youth
• La actitud = attitude

Words ending in -ua and úa

• La grúa = crane
• La yegua = mare

One exception:

EL  agua = water *

* This is the only word ending in -ua that takes a masculine article. Yet it behaves like a feminine noun. Adjectives describing, agua are feminine. We say EL agua fríA (The cold water). You may have come across this strange exception before where the masculine article el is used for a feminine word.

Words ending in -ed (if the stress falls on this syllable)

• La sed = thirst
• La red = net
• La pared = wall

Helpful, right? Now let’s check out the tricks for masculine nouns in Spanish.

Foolproof Rules for Masculine Nouns in Spanish

Unfortunately, there are not as many rules to know whether a noun in Spanish is masculine. In any case, if a word has any of the following endings you can be absolutely sure that it is masculine.

Words ending in -aro

ARE ALWAYS MASCULINE

• El descaro = nerve, insolence
• El pájaro = bird

Words ending in -emo

• El extremo = extreme
• El remo = oar

Words ending in -ecto

• El afecto = affection, fondness
• El dialecto = dialect
• El proyecto = project
• El trayecto = journey, course

Words ending in -ío and ío

• El cambio = change
• El divorcio = divorce
• El vacío = void, emptiness
• El prejuicio = prejudice
• El monopolio = monopoly
• El frío = cold
• El tío = uncle

Words ending in -or

• El amor = love
• El calor = heat
• El sabor = taste
• El tambor = drum

Words ending in -ismo

• El abismo = abyss
• El budismo = Buddhism
• El idealismo = idealism
• El terrorismo = terrorism

Words ending in -ismo are simply the Spanish counterparts to the English isms because they share the same Latin root.

Words ending in -ista

• El analista = analyst
• El artista = artist
• El taxista = taxi driver

As you can probably tell, all words that end in -ista denote occupations or stances and such, just like the endings -ist and -yst in English: therapist, marxist, etc. And of course, they are all derived from the isms of the previous rule.

Which brings us to the only exception to these rules!

THE EXCEPTION TO ALL THESE RULES

People, animals and occupations.

When talking about people, animals and occupations things get a bit blurry. But don’t worry, we’re going to give you a framework to work with.

Regardless of the rules we stated above, if the word is referring to an animal or a person, then the article must correspond to the gender of the animal or person.

Articles always change:

For any person or animal that is masculine, these are the articles to use:

Masculine – people or animals

For any person or animal that is feminine, these are the articles to use:

Feminine – people or animals

For example. If you have the word for friend, it refers to a person correct?

So, you would have to establish if that friend is a male or a female to determine which article to use.

If you were referring to a male friend, which article would you use EL or LA?

A female friend?

(Check out this link to learn how to use articles in Spanish)

The endings of nouns sometimes change:

The endings are not so obvious. More often than not, the endings change according to the gender of the person or animal:

Sometimes only the article changes. For instance, when the word for a person or occupation ends in -e

When occupations end in -a it gets messy. If the occupation ends in -a it tends not to change.

I know we said we would only be giving you rules that didn’t have any exceptions, the rules above are full proof- it’s when you get to people and occupations where you need to put your thinking cap on. And it gets easier with time and practice.

If you know your endings and what gender they fall into, the only exception to keep in mind is when the word refers to a person, an animal or an occupation because the person or animal will determine the gender of the word.

How to use the exception to the rules above

We said all words ending in -ìa are feminine. Yet if you are referring to a person or occupation this is what happens:

EL espía = The spy (if the spy is a man)

LA espía = The spy (if the spy is a woman.

It’s the person’s gender that will determine whether we use el or la . And because it is an occupation, we said that those that end in -a, tend to stay the same.

What about the word for doctor?  Doctor

We said words that end in -or are masculine. But since doctor refers to a person and an occupation, it’s the gender of the doctor that will determine the article and ending. If it is a female doctor it would be:

LA doctorA (we said that only those occupations ending in -e never change endings, and most ending in -a never change the ending).

EL doctor – The doctor (male)

LA doctorA – The doctor (female)

When you are starting out in Spanish knowing the gender of nouns is very difficult. But it is something that even advanced students mix up once in a while. And to make things more interesting, the fact is that with time, languages evolve and change.

Feminine or masculine? A permanent discussion

Within the Fluenz team, amongst us who Spanish is our first language we still have numerous discussions on whether certain words are masculine or feminine.

This discussion is especially alive with occupations. The words doctorA , arquitectA , are relatively new, this is why we can’t craft a perfect rule. But for example to most of us the word médicA  sounds wrong- we wouldn’t use it. We would say El médicO, La médicO . Why? Well the answer is just because 🙂

If you look at texts 30 years ago you would never find LA arquitectA , it would have been LA arquitectO . But that has changed with time, and thus we end up with rules that are blurry which do not help when those starting to learn Spanish. But that is also the beauty of a language, and the fact that it is alive and evolving is one of the elements that I find personally interesting.

In both the  Fluenz online program  and the Fluenz Spanish Immersions , we take it one step at a time. If you are starting to learn Spanish, we only introduce the concept of gender differences a couple of sessions in.  Little by little, and loads of practice is the best remedy.

Best of luck!

Here are two articles that help shed some light on the subject:

Puzzle Solved: Why nouns in Spanish are feminine and masculine

The Ultimate Tip-Sheet to Articles in Spanish: (“El” vs. “La”, “Un” vs. “Una”)

Related posts:

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Gender in Spanish: Masculine and Feminine

Identifying the gender in Spanish of the nouns is, actually, one of the biggest challenges that students of Spanish as a foreign language have, but here we are going to give you some tips to help you to know if one noun is feminine or masculine.

Identify a noun gender in Spanish

Notice that. although it is seldom possible to predict with certainty whether a given Spanish noun is of the masculine or feminine gender , Spanish has numerous guidelines that can usually be followed. The most well-known rule or guideline is that nouns ending in –o are masculine, and those ending in –a are feminine:

E l libro ( book)                    La casa ( house )

El cuadro ( painting )           La mesa ( table )

Nevertheless,  there are numerous exceptions to this gender rule , especially for those ending in  –a   (Many of them are listed below), and words ending in any other letter can be either masculine or feminine,  so the best advice is that you learn every new word along with its gender by using a definite articles , for example:

El árbol  ( tree )                 El coche (car)

El lápiz  ( pencil )               La mano (hand)

Anyway, here you have some basic but useful rules:

Spanish gender rules

1. Nouns ending in certain suffixes are usually feminine . They include –ción (usually the equivalent of “-tion”), – sión , -ía (usually equivalent of “-y”, although not in the diminutive sense), -za , – dad (often used like “-ty”) and –tis is (“-it is).

La nación (nation)                     La felicidad (happiness)

La ocasión (occasion)                La caridad (charity)

La economía (economy)             La meningitis (meningitis)

La pobreza (poverty)

2. Nouns of greek origin ending in –ma are usually masculine .

El problema (problem)                   El poema (poem)

El drama (drama)                         El tema (subject)

3. Nouns ending in an accented vowel are usually masculine .

El sofá (sofa)                                 El tabú (taboo)

El chalé (detached house)           El rubí (ruby)

4. Nouns with certain endings are usually masculine . These include –aje (usually the equivalent of “-age”), -ambre and –or . An exception is la flor (flower).

El mensaje (message)        El viaje (trip)

El hambre (hunger)           El calambre (cramp)

El calor (heat)                     El dolor (pain)

5. Infinitives used as nouns are masculine .

El fumar (smoking)           El cantar (singing)

El viajar (travelling)           El escuchar (listening)

6. Months and days of the week are masculine

Enero es frío ( January is cold)    El lunes ( Monday )

7.  Letters are feminine while numbers are masculine

La d ( d )                  El 7 ( seven )

Learning the gender of the nouns is quite essential because adjectives , articles , and demonstratives have to agree with this gender:

El coche es rojo ( the car is red ).

Estas flores son bonitas (these flowers are beautiful).

You can learn more about Spanish adjectives by clicking on the link.

Feminine and Masculine, this is the questions

Now you can practice what you have learned with the quizzes below, and remember to contact your tutor with any question you have about gender in Spanish  or to ask for more homework. Don’t you have a Spanish personal tutor yet?

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El or La? Mastering Spanish Gender and Articles

Spanish gender and articles are essential if you are learning this beautiful language. 

As a learner, you might find yourself pondering whether to use el or la , struggling to decide whether a noun is masculine or feminine in Spanish.

Fear not! In this article, we will unveil the mystery of Spanish gender and articles, providing you with a comprehensive guide to navigating this linguistic task. 

Unlike English, where nouns do not possess grammatical gender, Spanish nouns are classified as masculine or feminine. 

This classification applies to people, animals, objects, and abstract concepts. Spanish articles lesson is one of the pillars to sound like a native and feel confident about the language. 

Read on to master the concept of Spanish genders and how to guess almost to the dot what articles go with what noun based on the last vocal or reasons behind the exceptions. 

Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced learner, by the end of this article, you’ll have a firm grasp on how to use el and la in Spanish confidently. 

Join 559 million people on the planet who speak Spanish! Sign up for your free trial Spanish class today. ➡️

Rules for Determining Gender of Nouns

Nouns ending in -o or -a.

One of the fundamental rules for determining Spanish gender and articles lies in the ending of most nouns. 

Nouns ending in -o- generally are masculine, while those ending in -a- are usually feminine. 

For example, el niño (the boy) and la niña (the girl). But there are some exceptions, so expect some curveballs. 

Anthropologist – El antropólogo, la antropóloga

Aunt and uncle – La tía y el tío

Banana – El plátano, la banana

Boy, girl – El niño, la niña

Brother, sister – El hermano, la hermana

Champ – El campeón, la campeona

Cook – El cocinero, la cocinera

Doctor – El doctor, la doctora

Dog – El perro, la perra

Emperor – El emperador, la emperadora

Entrepreneur – El emprendedor, la emprendedora

Executive – El ejecutivo, la ejecutiva

Fireman, firewoman – El bombero, la bombera

Friend – El amigo, la amiga

Gentleman, lady – El señor, la señora

Grandfather, grandmother – El abuelo, la abuela

Librarian – El bibliotecario, la bibliotecaria

Manager – El encargado, la encargada

Spouse – El esposo, la esposa

Son, daughter – La hija el hijo

Teacher – El maestro, la maestra

Waiter – El mesero, la mesera

Writer – El escritor, la escritora

Read more: How to Make Spanish Sentences Plural

Noun Categories with Specific Gender

Some noun categories have inherent gender. 

For instance, family relations, such as el padre (the father) and la madre (the mother), are tied to particular genders. 

Also, consider professions such as el actor (the actor) and l a actriz (the actress).

Bull – El toro

Cow – La vaca

Horse – El caballo

Mare – La yegua

Man – El hombre 

Woman – La mujer

Father – El padre

Mother – La madre

Son-in-law – El yerno

Daughter-in-law – La nuera

Gentleman – El caballero

Lady – La dama

Godfather – El padrino

Godmother – La madrina

Duke – El duque

Duchess – La duquesa

Tsar – El zar

Tsarin – La zarina

Sheep – El cordero

Lamb – La oveja

Friar – El fraile

Nun – La monja

Priest – El cura

Stepfather – El padrastro

Stepmother – La madrastra

Patriarch – El patriarca 

Matriarch – La matriarca

Male poet – El poeta

Female poet – La poetisa

King – El Rey

Queen – La Reina

Mayor – El alcalde

Mayor – La alcaldesa

Exceptions to the Gender Rules

Of course, languages have defying rules, and Spanish is no exception. 

Some nouns deviate from the -o- and -a- endings, and don’t conform to the general gender guidelines. For example, el día (the day), el idioma (the language), and el clima (the weather) are masculine despite their -a ending.

Artist – El artista, la artista

Athlete – El atleta

Interpreter – El intérprete, la intérprete

Pilot – El piloto, la piloto

Policeman – El policía

Radio – El radio, la radio

Station – La estación

Student – El estudiante, la estudiante

Water – El agua

See next: Spanish Grammar Rules You Can’t Afford to Ignore

The Use of Definite Articles el and la

Definite articles are essential companions to nouns in any language. When it comes to Spanish gender and articles, el and la are used to indicate specific nouns. 

Remember, el accompanies masculine nouns, and la partners with feminine nouns. But when the noun is plural, the articles become los and las, respectively . 

Indefinite Articles un and una

Indefinite articles, on the other hand, introduce unspecified nouns. Un precedes masculine nouns, while una precedes feminine nouns, for plurals unos and unas serve with equivalents. 

Un and una are indefinite as they refer to a non-specific noun. Compra un muñeco (buy a doll) means buy any doll, while compra el muñeco (buy the doll) is refering to a specific one. 

Hand-picked for you: Why Spanish Conjunctions Are Essential For Fluency

Examples and Practice Exercises

Practice makes perfect, and this principle is true for mastering Spanish gender and articles. 

Let’s dive into some examples and exercises to solidify your understanding. 

• Identify the gender: el coche (the car) , la mesa (the table) , la enfermera (the nurse)  
• Article Matching: Match the correct article to: niña (girl), amigo (friend), manzana ( apple)
• Change of gender: Why is el problema (the problem) a masculine noun when it ends with an -a?

Tips and Strategies for Memorizing Noun Gender

Memorizing Spanish gender and articles might seem daunting, but fear not! 

Here are some tips to make this endeavor more manageable:

1. Word associations: Create associations between nouns and their genders. 

For instance, visualize el sol (the sun) as a firm, constant, masculine energy and la luna (the moon) as a feminine light and energy.

2. Flashcards: Create gender-specific flashcards for nouns. Pair the noun with its corresponding article to reinforce your memory.

3. Practice sentences: Frame sentences using new vocabulary to enhance your recall of Spanish gender and articles in context.

Read this: 35 Regular -ar Verbs in Spanish You Can Master Today

Improving Gender Agreement in Sentences

To maintain grammatical harmony in your sentences, ensure that adjectives, articles, and pronouns match gender and number with the nouns they modify or refer to. 

This attention to detail elevates your language proficiency. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Navigating the world of Spanish gender and articles is tied with some struggles of its own. 

Here are some common mistakes to avoid: 

1. Misapplying endings: Not all -o and -a endings adhere to gender rules. Be cautious of exceptions like el día (the day) or el azúcar (the sugar).

2. Overgeneralizing gender: Not all nouns ending in -o are masculine, nor are those ending in -a feminine. It is crucial to learn the specific gender for each noun. 

3. Forgetting plural agreement: Remember to modify articles, adjectives, and pronouns when dealing with plural nouns. 

4. Knowing one of the two genders to be correct: Cure in English means la cura , but el cura means the priest. This also happens with el capital (the investment), and la capital (the capital city), el segundo (the second), and la segunda (the second one) as well as with el Papa (the pope) and la papa (the potato).

Keep Up the Good Work!

Congratulations! You’ve now journeyed through the landscape of Spanish gender and articles. 

This linguistic feature may seem complex, but you can wield it confidently with dedication and practice. 

By mastering the rules for determining noun gender, understanding the use of definite and indefinite articles, and practicing consistently, you’ll be able to express yourself fluently in Spanish in no time.  

So, don’t hesitate to dive into the world of Spanish gender ad articles and enjoy the richness of expression they bring to this beautiful language.

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Spanish Gender 101: Feminine & Masculine Nouns in Spanish

One of the first things you’ll find out when learning Spanish is that all nouns have a gender . This means that every time you use a noun, you must express whether it’s a feminine or masculine word. Given that this may be a new concept for new learners, many people wonder what grammatical gender in Spanish is. 

Grammatical gender is a property of Spanish nouns . This attribute allows us to classify words as either masculine or feminine. In Spanish, all nouns have a gender. To keep the sentence consistent, adjectives, articles, and pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.  

Not knowing if a word is feminine or masculine in Spanish can lead to poor communication and, in some cases, misunderstandings. For that reason, in this guide, I’ll provide you with all the key information you need to know to determine the gender of nouns in Spanish . 

Here is a quick overview of the topics we’ll cover:

How Does Spanish Gender Work

• Spanish masculine noun endings

Feminine nouns endings

Spanish gender exceptions, do numbers in spanish agree with gender.

• How do numbers and gender affect adjectives in Spanish?

Do colors change gender in Spanish?

Why is dress masculine in spanish.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a more solid understanding of how Spanish gender works.

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As a romance language , Spanish has grammatical gender whose purpose is to express whether a noun is masculine or feminine. The Spanish gender can be distinguished with certain endings or by checking the gender of the adjectives, pronouns and Spanish articles surrounding that word.  

L a cas a blanc a es muy bonit a . The white house is very pretty. 

Nuestr os perr os son pequeñ os .  Our dogs are small.  

Many students assume that confusing the gender of words in Spanish is not a big deal. In many cases, the worst that can happen to you is that your Spanish will not sound very good:

La problema es que no tengo tiempo.  The problem is that I don’t have time. 

Su mano es muy pequeñ o . His hand is very small. 

However, in certain situations, changing the gender of a noun can also change its meaning, as you can see in the graphic and examples below:

Me gustan las cerezas .  I like cherries . 

Mi mamá tiene un cerezo .  My mom has a cherry tree . 

Me corté la frente .  I cut my forehead . 

Hay un frente frío en la ciudad.  There’s a cold front in the city. 

Take Note: The gender of a noun in Spanish affects determiners , adjectives, and some pronouns. To put it in simple terms, if you’re working with a Spanish masculine noun, you must make sure its modifiers are also masculine. 

[Determiner] + [noun] + [verb conjugated] + [adjective] 

Nuestr o coch e está suci o .  Our car is dirty.  

Est a camis a es negr a .  This t-shirt is black. 

Rules for Feminine And Masculine Words in Spanish

A Spanish noun is a word we use to name people, things, concepts, places, and animals. 

As established before, a Spanish noun can be classified as masculine or feminine depending on its gender. For living things (such as people and animals), the grammatical gender is associated with the biological gender:

El perr o de Luis es blanc o .  Luis’ dog is white. 

Mi gatit a está enferm a .  My kitty is sick. 

El mecánic o trabaja todos los días.  The mechanic works every day.  

L a meser a descansa los jueves.  The waitress doesn’t work on Thursday. 

However, things start getting tricky when determining the gender of objects and concepts. After all, how can you know if problema and mano are feminine or masculine? For these types of cases, there are certain guidelines that can give you a better idea of how Spanish gender is formed. 

In the following sections, we’ll explore some of Spanish’s most important rules for feminine and masculine nouns. Be aware that these guidelines are not set in stone, and there are some exceptions that you’ll need to memorize. So, we’ll cover those exceptions below, too.

Masculine noun endings

In Spanish, the following nouns are always masculine:

• Cities and countries that end with a consonant . 
• Countries and cities that end with a vowel other than ‘a’. 
• Names of lakes, oceans, seas, and rivers. 

Check these examples:

(Determiner] + [noun] + [verb conjugated] + [complement]

Urugua y es muy bonit o .  Uruguay is very pretty. 

Singapu r es muy car o .   Singapore is very expensive. 

El Amazonas es el río más largo del mundo.  The Amazon River is the world’s largest river. 

Take Note: When it comes to living things (people and animals), masculine nouns are always used when referring to a mixed group (no matter how many females or males are) or when talking about the group as a whole .  

Los niñ o s juegan en el parque.  The kids play in the park. 

Mis perr o s son muy tranquil o s.  My dogs are very quiet. 

In the sections below, you’ll find tables with the most common endings for masculine words in Spanish. Make sure you pay attention to the exceptions column. 

Masculine nouns that end in -o

As you may already know, most masculine words in Spanish end with ‘-o’. But, as you’ll see in the examples below, some popular words are the exception to this rule. 

*Note: la moto and la foto are a shortened version of the feminine words ‘motocicleta’ and ‘fotografía’. 

[Determiner] + [noun] + [complement]

El diseño de mi prima no está terminado.  My cousin’s design is not finished. 

Sus zapatos son muy caros.  His shoes are very expensive. 

El plato es blanco con rayas azules.  The dish is white with blue stripes. 

Spanish Masculine nouns that end in -e

Quiero un té helad o .  I want an iced tea . 

Este restaurante es muy famos o .  This restaurant is pretty famous. 

El maquillaj e de Claudia es muy buen o .  Claudia’s make-up is very good. 

Masculine nouns that end in -l

El fútbol es muy aburrid o .  Soccer is very boring.

¡Qué bonit o está tu labial !   Your lipstick is so pretty!

Ese árbol es muy viej o .  That tree is very old. 

Spanish masculine nouns that end in -r

El bar está llen o .  The bar is crowded. 

Tu suéter es roj o .  Your sweater is red. 

El vestidor está ocupad o .  The dressing room is occupied. 

Masculine nouns that end in -n

Los delfines son adorables.  Dolphins are adorable. 

Me encanta el salmón ahumad o .  I love smoked salmon . 

Este sillón es muy cómod o .  This couch is very comfortable. 

Spanish masculine words ending with -z

While most nouns that end with a particular consonant or vowel are generally classified as either masculine or feminine, nouns that end with ‘z’ do not follow a guideline. This is the only noun ending that does not have a guideline gender classification. Therefore, you simply need to memorize the gender of words that end with ‘z’.

El maíz está crudo.  The corn is raw. 

El pez es negro.  The fish is black. 

Take Note: To pluralize these Spanish words , you must change the ‘-z’ for the ending ‘-ces’. 

Los pe ces son muy bonitos.  Fish are very pretty. 

In the tables below, you’ll find the most common endings for feminine words in Spanish.

Feminine nouns ending with -a

The ending ‘-a’ is a good indicator that you’re most likely dealing with a feminine Spanish word. However, this doesn’t mean that all words that end with an ‘-a’ are feminine. In fact, a few masculine words also end with this vowel. 

La comida estuvo muy rica.  The food was delicious. 

Estas manzanas están muy agrias.  These apples are very sour. 

La botella de Suzy está vacía.  Suzy’s bottle is empty. 

When referring to people or animals , most of the time Spanish nouns can be transformed into feminine words by simply replacing the ‘-o’ with an ‘-a’. 

La maestra tiene dos gatitas . The teacher has two kitties .

Tu vecina es muy ruidosa.  Your neighbor is very noisy.   

Take Note: Do not get mixed up! You’ll find a few Spanish singular feminine words that end with ‘-a’ that are preceded by a masculine article . We only do this when those words start with a stressed ‘a’ sound. This allows us to ease the pronunciation!

El agua está fría.  The water is cold. 

Las aguas azucarad as son malas para la salud.  Sugared water is bad for your health. 

Because ‘aguas’ is plural in the second example, the ‘s’ on the end of the article ‘las’ breaks up the stressed ‘a’ in ‘aguas’. Which is why it uses the article ‘las’ which correctly matches the noun’s gender.

Spanish feminine nouns ending with -ión

As you learned before, many Spanish masculine words end with ‘-n’. But if you paid close attention to those words, you may have noticed that none of them had the suffix ‘-ión’: 

El balcó n es muy grande.  The balcony is very big. 

El patí n eléctrico es muy práctico.  The electric scooter is very practical. 

Why? Because all the nouns that end with ‘-ión’ are feminine words in Spanish. 

La canci ón es muy larga.  The song is too long. 

Su habitaci ón es morada.  Her bedroom is purple. 

Tomó la decisi ón equivocada.  He made the wrong decision. 

Spanish feminine nouns ending with -ad

Other nouns that are always feminine are those words that end with ‘-ad’ or ‘-ed’. 

La pared está recién pintad a .  The wall is newly painted. 

Lucía tiene cualidades muy buen a s.  Lucia has very nice qualities . 

La verdad puede ser doloros a .  The truth can be painful. 

Spanish feminine nouns ending with -z

Remember that nouns that end with ‘z’ do not follow a default gender guideline. So, it’s important to memorize the feminine words that end with the consonant ‘z’.

Su nariz es pequeñ a .  His nose is small.

 Tu voz es muy chillon a .  Your voice is so high-pitched. 

La luz es bastante brillante.  The light is quite bright. 

So far, you’ve learned some of the most common endings used to form feminine and masculine words in Spanish and their exceptions. In addition to these anomalies, there are other Spanish gender exceptions that you must keep in mind. 

Irregular nouns that change depending on the gender

In Spanish, some nouns use different words for the masculine and feminine forms. These nouns are:

Mi caballo es negr o y mi yegua pard a .  My horse is black and my mare brown. 

El toro es muy agresiv o y la vaca muy tranquil a .  The bull is very aggressive, and the cow is very calm. 

Nouns with immutable endings

As established before, when it comes to people, you can usually form the Spanish gender by changing the ‘-o’ for an ‘-a’. However, there are certain words whose endings are unalterable . 

Watch out! Many people learning Spanish assume that these are neutral nouns. But as you already know, there is no such thing as neutral nouns in Spanish. With these types of nouns , you still have to mark the gender . To do so, you’ll use Spanish articles , adjectives, or pronouns. 

These are some of the nouns whose endings cannot change. As you can see, most of them are nouns used to describe a person’s profession or occupation :

And here are some examples of what you can do to mark the gender of these words:

[Masculine or feminine determiner] + [noun]+ (adjective)

Es a cantante es muy talentos a .  That singer is very talented. 

Es os cantantes son español es .  Those singers are Spanish. 

L a juez es muy puntual.  The judge is always on time. 

L os dentistas están muy jóvenes.  The dentists are very young. 

El periodista trabaja todo el día.  The journalist works all day. 

La periodista es muy insistente.  The journalist is very persistent. 

Take Note: You can also imply the gender of these nouns by saying the name of the person you’re talking about. 

José es dentista.  José is a dentist. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Spanish Gender

Spanish gender is a complex topic. As a result, here are some frequently asked questions that most of my students usually have. 

When working as adjectives, numbers have to agree in gender and number with the noun they are modifying. As a result, depending on the noun, a number can be either feminine or masculine. This rule is only applicable to the following numbers:

• Hundreds (starting at two hundred)

Tengo doscientos pesos .  I have two hundred pesos. 

Encarga doscientas galletas . Order two hundred cookies. 

Tengo una pluma extra.  I have an extra pen. 

Quiero un café , por favor.  I want a coffee , please. 

Hubo mil quinient os invitad os . There were one thousand five hundred guests. 

As mentioned above, this rule comes into effect with amounts superior to two hundred. Therefore, it’s correct to say:

Tengo cien pesos.  I have one hundred pesos. 

Hay cien sillas disponibles.  There are one hundred chairs available. 

How do number and gender affect adjectives in Spanish?

Most Spanish adjectives must agree in gender and number with the accompanying noun. This means that most Spanish adjectives will change their gender to match the noun. Adjectives that end with an ‘-e’ or a consonant cannot be modified to express the Spanish grammatical gender. 

Sofía es muy inteligent e .  Sofia is very smart . 

Mi primo también es inteligent e .  My cousin is also smart . 

Tu casa es grand e y bonit a .  Your house is big and pretty. 

Ese color es bonit o .  That color is pretty. 

If a color is working as a Spanish adjective, it will need to change its gender to agree with the noun unless such a color ends with a consonant or ‘-e’. On the other hand, when working as nouns , Spanish colors are always masculine . 

Check these examples of sentences with colors in Spanish :

El rosa es mi color preferido.  Pink is my favorite color. 

La camisa rosa es muy grande.  The pink t-shirt is too big. 

Quiero un rojo más intenso.  I want a more intense red . 

La mochila roja me gusta más.  I like the red bag more. 

Many people mistakenly think the gender of a noun in Spanish is determined by who uses that object. Because of this, most people assume that vestido is feminine, only to find out that they’re wrong . As explained before, a big portion of masculine words in Spanish end with an ‘-o’. Therefore, vestido (dress) is actually a masculine noun. 

Me gusta la vestido rosa.  I like the pink dress. 

Me gusta el vestido rosa.  I like the pink dress. 

Key Points: Masculine & Feminine Words in Spanish

Spanish gender can be a challenging topic for many new and advanced learners. For that reason, this guide covers all the information you need to understand this topic. Here are some key points that you should keep in mind about masculine and feminine words in Spanish:

• Spanish grammatical gender allows you to classify words into masculine and feminine . 
• For objects and concepts, Spanish gender is determined based on certain endings. 
• People and animals’ gender is based on their biological gender or their gender identity. 
• The gender for people and animals can be formed by replacing the ‘-o’ with an ‘-a’ or vice versa. 
• Grammatical gender affects adjectives, articles , and Spanish determiners . This means that these words must agree in gender and number with the noun. 
• The Spanish masculine gender can be used to talk about a mixed group or to refer to the group as a whole. 
• Most Spanish masculine words end with ‘-o’, ‘l’, ‘e’, ‘r’ and ‘n’. However, some feminine words also have these endings. For example, la razón, la mano, and la mujer. 
• Most feminine words in Spanish end with ‘ -a’, ‘-ión’, ‘-ad’, ‘-ed’ . There are also some exceptions, such as el día and el mapa. 
• Singular feminine words that start with a stressed ‘a’ sound must be preceded by a masculine article . Since this is only done for pronunciation purposes, the word remains feminine . 
• Certain nouns related to professions have fixed endings. In these cases, we use articles, adjectives, and pronouns to mark the gender. 

Daniela Sanchez

¡Hola! Soy Daniela Sanchez, I've been studying Spanish professionally as well as teaching it in Mexico and online for over 10 years. I’ve taught Spanish to a wide array of foreigners from many backgrounds. Over the years, I've made it my mission to work hard on refining many challenging to understand grammar topics to make my students' learning experiences easier, faster and more enjoyable. Read More About Me

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Gender of Nouns in Spanish Grammar

Masculine nouns, feminine nouns, people and animals.

• Lingolia Plus Spanish

What does noun gender mean in Spanish?

Nouns (sustantivos) , describe people, places, things and concrete or abstracts concepts.

In Spanish grammar, nouns are classified by gender as masculine or feminine. The gender of a noun in Spanish can generally be identified by the noun ending, however, there are some exceptions.

Learn the rules for identifying masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish grammar with Lingolia. In the exercises, you can practise what you have learnt.

The general rule is that nouns ending in - o are masculine. However, there are some different noun endings and noun categories that are also considered masculine.

Below is a list of general rules, examples and exceptions for determining masculine nouns in Spanish grammar:

The general rule is that nouns ending in -a are feminine. However, there are some different noun endings and noun categories that are also considered feminine.

Below is a list of general rules, examples and exceptions for determining feminine nouns in Spanish grammar:

As with all rules, there are a few exceptions so it’s best to learn the article and gender together with the noun.

When a noun refers to a person or pet, the noun’s gender matches the gender of said person or animal.

• Some word endings are invariable, in this case only the article changes to reflect masculine and feminine.

Noun gender with jobs and professions in Spanish

When talking about a person’s job, we change the gender of the noun to reflect that of the person we’re talking about.

• Professions that end in -o or a consonant change their ending to -a in the feminine.
• Professions that end in -e don’t usually change in the feminine form. We simply change the article to reflect the person’s gender.
• There are some exceptions where a job title that ends in -e takes the ending -a in the feminine.
• Many professions have the same form in both the masculine and the feminine; only the article changes to reflect gender.
• There are some professions and job titles where the masculine and feminine forms are completely different, as shown in the table below.

Gender of animal nouns in Spanish

• The gender of nouns for pets and some wild animals usually corresponds to the sex of the animal.
• However, the nouns for some wild animals have only one form (masculine or feminine) that is used for both male and female animals. The gender of these animals is specified via the words macho male or hembra female .
• In other cases, the masculine and feminine forms are different, as displayed in the table below.

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Is Pared Masculine Or Feminine

When discussing the gender of words in Spanish, it is important to understand that nouns can be classified as either masculine or feminine. In the case of the word “pared,” which means “wall” in English, it is considered to be a feminine noun.

Here are some characteristics of feminine nouns in Spanish:

• Feminine nouns often end in the letters “a” or “ión.”
• Feminine nouns are typically preceded by the definite article “la” or the indefinite article “una.”
• Adjectives and pronouns that modify feminine nouns must agree in gender.

Therefore, when referring to a wall in Spanish, you would use the feminine article “la pared.” For example:

“Voy a pintar la pared de mi habitación.” (I am going to paint the wall in my room.)

In summary, the word “pared” is a feminine noun in Spanish, and it is important to use corresponding feminine articles and modifiers when referring to it.

Is Pared Masculine Or Feminine in Spanish?

Introduction, the gender of nouns in spanish, the gender of “pared” (wall), using “pared” in sentences, additional tips on noun gender, practice makes perfect.

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