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🚻 Compendium
Grammar
ES
Español — Noun gender
Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine. As a rule, nouns ending in -o are masculine (el libro) and those in -a are feminine (la casa), but the ending is a guide, not a law.
1
How it works
✓ Rule
The default endings decide most cases: -o → masculine (el libro), -a → feminine (la casa). Some endings are stronger than the vowel: -ción and -dad are always feminine (la canción, la ciudad), -ista and many -e nouns can be either gender depending on the person (el/la artista, el/la estudiante).
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Endings and examples
| Ending / example | Gender |
|---|---|
| -o: el libro, el niño | masculine (default) |
| -a: la casa, la niña | feminine (default) |
| -ción: la canción, la nación | always feminine |
| -dad: la ciudad, la verdad | always feminine |
| -ista: el/la artista, el/la turista | same form, both genders |
| -e: el coche, la clase | unpredictable — learn with the article |
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Good to know
⚠ Note
Watch the exceptions that break the -o/-a rule: el problema, el día and el mapa are masculine despite the -a, while la mano and la foto (short for la fotografía) are feminine despite the -o. Always memorize each noun together with its article: not casa but la casa.