Noun Genders

Noun Genders

A certain noun (a person, place or thing) in Spanish is given a gender. Spanish has two, the masculine form and feminine form.

The “La” Words (Feminine)

All Spanish feminine words will be associated with the feminine article (our “the” in the English language): "La".

Here are a few instances of certain noun endings that make a noun feminine:

Words that end in “a,” “d,” “z,” “ión” and “umbre”:

Words ending in “a“	La letra	The letter
	a cama	The bed
	La chica	The girl
Words ending in “d” (including the “-dad,” “-tad,” “-tud” families)	La felicidad	Happiness
	La virtud	Virtue
	La mitad	Middle
Words ending in “z” ( including the “-iz”, “-uz”, “-trizAdmirável” and “ez” families)	La nariz	The nose
	La luz	The light
	La actriz	The actress
	La calidez	The warmth
Words ending in “ión” (the “-cion,” “-sión,” “-gión” families)	La canción	The song
	La mansión	The mansion
	La religión	The religion
Words ending in “umbre”	La costumbre	The habit
	La cumbre	The summit
	La legumbre	The legume (vegetable)

The “El” Words (Masculine)

All Spanish masculine words will follow the masculine article (our “the” in the English language): “El”.

In certain nouns, some of the words won‘t end in an -a or an -o, but will still give you a clue as to which direction you should go.

Here are a few masculine endings:

Words that end in “o,” “e,” accented vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú) and consonants (except “d,” “z” and the “ión” family) are masculine:

Words that end in “o”	El teatro	The theater
	El dormitorio	The bedroom
	El chico	The boy
Words that end in “e” (except “-umbre,” some “-ie” and “-ente”)	El maquillaje	The makeup
	El perfume	The perfume
	El estudiante	The student
Words that end with accented vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú)	El sofá	The sofa
	El café	The coffee
	El ají	The garlic
	El tabú	he taboo
Words that end in consonants (except “d,” “z” and the “ión” family)	el árbol	The tree
	el rumor	The rumor
	el cojín	The cushion