Every Spanish noun has a gender
In Spanish, every noun is either masculine or feminine. A table, a book, an idea: each one carries a gender, and that gender controls the article in front of it and the adjectives around it.
The good news: gender is mostly predictable from the noun's ending. Learn a handful of patterns, memorize a short list of exceptions, and you will guess right far more often than wrong.
The habit that makes this stick: never learn a noun bare. Learn el libro, la mesa, el problema. The article is part of the word.
The four definite articles
English has one word for 'the'. Spanish has four, matching gender and number.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | el libro (the book) | los libros (the books) |
| Feminine | la mesa (the table) | las mesas (the tables) |
| El libro está en la mesa. | The book is on the table. el for masculine libro, la for feminine mesa |
| Los niños miran las fotos. | The children look at the photos. plural articles: los, las |
Endings that predict gender
- Nouns ending in -o are usually masculine: el libro, el vaso, el año.
- Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine: la casa, la playa, la semana.
- Always feminine: -ción and -sión (la canción, la televisión), -dad and -tad (la ciudad, la libertad), -umbre (la costumbre).
- Usually masculine: -or (el color, el amor), -aje (el viaje, el garaje).
| La canción es muy bonita. | The song is very pretty. -ción words are always feminine |
| Me gusta el color de la ciudad. | I like the color of the city. el color (-or masculine), la ciudad (-dad feminine) |
The classic exceptions
A small set of high-frequency nouns breaks the -o and -a patterns. Learn these as a fixed list.
- Masculine despite -a: el día, el mapa, el planeta, el sofá.
- Masculine -ma words from Greek: el problema, el programa, el sistema, el idioma, el clima.
- Feminine despite -o: la mano, la foto (from fotografía), la moto (from motocicleta).
| El programa tiene un problema. | The program has a problem. two masculine -ma nouns in one sentence |
| Me duele la mano. | My hand hurts. la mano is feminine despite the -o |
Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- or ha- take el in the singular for sound reasons: el agua, el alma, el hambre. They stay feminine: el agua fría, and in the plural the article returns to normal: las aguas frías.
Un, una, unos, unas
The indefinite articles ('a', 'an', 'some') follow exactly the same gender and number logic.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | un amigo (a friend) | unos amigos (some friends) |
| Feminine | una idea (an idea) | unas ideas (some ideas) |
| Tengo un problema y una pregunta. | I have a problem and a question. un problema (masculine -ma), una pregunta (regular -a) |
| Compramos unas fotos en el mercado. | We bought some photos at the market. |
Agreement: the article is only the beginning
Gender spreads through the whole phrase. Adjectives change their ending to match the noun: rojo becomes roja with a feminine noun, and both take -s in the plural.
This is why getting gender right early pays off. One wrong article usually means a wrong adjective too, and the error multiplies across the sentence.
| El coche rojo y la puerta roja. | The red car and the red door. rojo agrees with coche, roja with puerta |
| Las casas blancas son viejas. | The white houses are old. feminine plural everywhere: las, blancas, viejas |
Pronunciation corner
Say these article and noun combinations out loud. Spanish vowels are short and pure: a e i o u never glide the way English vowels do.
| el agua | [el ˈaɣwa] | el AH-gwa; the g is soft, almost a breath between vowels |
| la lección | [la lekˈsjon] | la lek-SYON; stress the last syllable In most of Spain the c before i sounds like th: [lekˈθjon]. |
| la ciudad | [la sjuˈðað] | la syoo-DAHD; the final d is soft, like the th in 'the' |
| el problema | [el pɾoˈβlema] | el pro-BLEH-ma; the single r is a quick tap of the tongue |
Practice drill
Fill in the correct article. Definite (el, la, los, las) unless the English calls for 'a' or 'some'.
___ mesa (the table)Show answer
la
___ problema (the problem)Show answer
el-ma word from Greek
___ ciudad (the city)Show answer
la-dad is always feminine
___ día (the day)Show answer
elclassic exception
___ mano (the hand)Show answer
lafeminine despite -o
___ agua está fría (the water is cold)Show answer
elstressed initial a takes el, yet the noun stays feminine: fría
___ foto (a photo)Show answer
unashort for la fotografía
___ mapas (the maps)Show answer
losel mapa is masculine
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to memorize the gender of every Spanish noun?
No. The endings predict gender for the large majority of nouns: -o, -or and -aje lean masculine, while -a, -ción, -dad and -umbre lean feminine. Memorize only the short exception list (el día, el mapa, la mano, the -ma words) and learn every new noun together with its article.
Why is it el agua if agua is feminine?
Spanish avoids the clash of two stressed a sounds in la agua. Feminine nouns starting with a stressed a- or ha- take el in the singular: el agua, el alma, el hambre. The gender does not change, so adjectives stay feminine (el agua fría) and the plural uses las (las aguas).
Is el problema masculine or is that a typo?
It is masculine. A group of nouns ending in -ma that entered Spanish from Greek are masculine: el problema, el programa, el sistema, el idioma, el clima. Ordinary -ma nouns like la cama (bed) stay feminine, so treat the Greek group as a fixed list.
Does getting gender wrong break communication?
Usually people will still understand you, and native speakers are forgiving with beginners. It matters most in writing and in a few pairs where gender changes meaning, such as el capital (money) and la capital (capital city). Aim for accuracy from the start; it is much harder to fix later.