Gender Rules in Spanish || Genders & Exceptions Explained

Q: Are there any exceptions to the gender rules?

Yes, some nouns that end in -a are masculine (e.g., el día - "the day"), and some nouns that end in -o are feminine (e.g., la mano - "the hand").

SPANISH GENDER RULES

In Spanish, words have gender. The word género (gender) in broad terms refers to a group of beings or objects classified by a set of common characteristics and class or style.

Used in a grammatical context, it refers to a property of nouns (and some pronouns) by which they are classified either as masculine or feminine.

GENDER OF NOUNS

Nouns in Spanish can either be masculine or feminine.

When the noun refers to a living being, it is common for there to be a specific form assigned to each grammatical gender corresponding to their biological distinction.
This differentiation is generally done by adding gender-specific suffixes to the same root.

When the noun refers to an inanimate object, generally the object is either only masculine or only feminine.

PATTERN

Most masculine nouns end in -o

Most feminine nouns end in -a

	Masculine	Feminine
masculine nouns ending in -o and feminine ending in -a (for animate beings)	el ingeniero the male engineer	la ingeniera the female engineer
	el niño the boy	la niña the girl
	el profesor the male teacher	la profesora the female teacher
	el gato the male cat	la gata the female has-text-align-center data-align="center">[speak el arquitecto the male architect	la arquitecta the female architect
	el enfermero the male nurse	la enfermera the female nurse

	Masculine	Feminine
Nouns with a single form referring to inanimate objects	el libro book
	el cuadro painting
	el suelo floor
		la casa house
		la mesa table
		la puerta door

GENDER AGREEMENT RULE

The grammatical gender agreement rule mandates that there must be an agreement in gender and number between the noun and the adjectives, articles, and pronouns that they modify.

Meaning, that there must be a coincidence in number and gender between the noun and the adjectives, articles, and pronouns that accompany said noun in a given phrase.

RULES

Article agreement:

Pronoun agreement:

ADJECTIVES AGREEMENT

Adjectives must agree in gender and in number with the noun that they modify.

Spanish	English
La paloma blanca	The white dove
El brazo izquierdo	The left arm
Las verduras rojas	The red vegetables
Los pantalones negros	The black pants
El libro viejo	The old book
La mesa redonda	The round table

ARTICLE AGREEMENT

Articles must agree with the gender and number of the noun they accompany.

SPANISH	ENGLISH
el chico	the boy
la cama	the bed
los libros	the books
las cortinas	the curtains
el zapato	the shoe
la silla	the chair

PRONOUN AGREEMENT

Pronouns must agree in gender with the noun they modify.

Ella es una gran amiga.	She is a great friend.
Él es un buen empleado.	He is a good employee.
Nosotros somos europeos.	We are European.
Tú eres buen cocinero.	You are a good cook.
Ellas son sus hijas.	They are her daughters.
Ellos eran mis alumnos.	They were my students.

EXCEPTIONS

Although many nouns in Spanish follow the general grammatical pattern for gender (masculine ending in -o and feminine ending in -a), there are significant exceptions to consider.

For instance, some nouns that end in -a are classified as masculine and others ending in -a are considered masculine.
Other nouns have a single form, irrespective of their grammatical gender.

These are the main exceptions to consider in the grammatical use of gender in Spanish:

1. Some masculine nouns end in -a and some feminine nouns end in -o

Masculine	Feminine
el día the day
el agua the water
el problema the problem
	la mano the hand
	la radio the radio
	la moto the motorbike

2. Some nouns referring to animate beings have a single form for both grammatical genders

Some nouns, referring to animate beings, have a single form that is used to refer to both grammatical genders, and to distinguish each gender, the articles el/la or the corresponding adjectives are used.

Masculine	Feminine
el periodista the male journalist	la periodista the female journalist
el artista the male artist	la artista the female artist
el estudiante the male student	la artista the female student
un buen profesional a good male professional	una buen profesional a good female professional
el pianista the male pianist	la pianista the female pianist
el dentista the male dentist	la dentista the female dentist

3. Exception where some nouns referring to animate beings have a single form only, irrespective of their grammatical gender

Some nouns referring to animate beings have a single form (either masculine or feminine), irrespective of their grammatical gender.

What helps distinguish their gender is the use of accompanying words such macho (male) or hembra (female).

Masculine	Feminine
el tiburón the shark
el personaje the character
el pez the fish
	la persona the person
	la víctima the victim
	la hormiga the ant

4. Exception where some nouns referring to inanimate objects have a single form only

Some nouns referring to inanimate objects have a single form, either the object is only masculine or only feminine.

Masculine	Feminine
el libro the book
el cuadro the painting
el suelo the floor
	la casa the house
	la mesa the table
	la puerta the door

5. Exception of ambiguous nouns that admit the use of either gender without changing the meaning of the word

Masculine	Feminine
el mar the sea	la mar the sea
el vodka the vodka	la vodka the vodka
el calor the heat	la calor the heat
el coma the comma	la coma the comma
el señal the sign	la señal the sign
el azucar the sugar	la azucar the sugar

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FAQs

How many grammatical genders in Spanish?

Spanish has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine.

How to tell if a noun is masculine or feminine?

In general, nouns ending in -o are masculine, and those ending in -a are feminine, though there are many exceptions.

Are there any exceptions to the gender rules?

Yes, some nouns that end in -a are masculine (e.g., el día – “the day”), and some nouns that end in -o are feminine (e.g., la mano – “the hand”).

Do adjectives change based on gender?

Yes, adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe, usually ending in -o for masculine nouns and -a for feminine nouns.

What happens with nouns that refer to people?

Many nouns that refer to people have both masculine and feminine forms, such as amigo (male friend) and amiga (female friend), but some are gender-neutral and stay the same regardless of gender, like estudiante (student).

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