In this lesson
Every noun has a gender
In Spanish, every noun is either masculine or feminine. Not just people: tables, water, problems and tacos too. It has nothing to do with the thing itself. A table isn't more feminine than a book; mesa just happens to be a feminine word.
Why it matters: the gender decides the little words around the noun. "The" and "a" change, and so do adjectives like "red" or "cold". Get the gender right and everything around it clicks into place.
The 90% rule
You don't have to memorize the gender of every word. Look at the ending:
| Ending | Gender | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -o | masculine | el libro, el perro, el vaso |
| -a | feminine | la casa, la mesa, la comida |
That works about 90% of the time. For the other 10%, keep reading.
The articles: "the" and "a"
English has one "the". Spanish has four, because they match the noun in gender and in number:
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| the (one) | el libro | la casa |
| the (more than one) | los libros | las casas |
| a / an | un libro | una casa |
| some | unos libros | unas casas |
To make a noun plural, add -s if it ends in a vowel (casa → casas) and -es if it ends in a consonant (doctor → doctores).
Say them out loud
- el perrothe dog
- la mesathe table
- los tacosthe tacos
- las tortillasthe tortillas
- un caféa coffee
- una preguntaa question
✍️ Quick check
0/3
1.___ casa (the house)
2.___ libros (the books)
3.Tengo ___ pregunta. (I have a question.)
The VIP exceptions
These break the -o/-a rule, and they come up so often that it's worth learning them on day one:
| Word | Meaning | Why it's odd |
|---|---|---|
| el problema | the problem | ends in -a, but masculine |
| el mapa | the map | ends in -a, but masculine |
| el día | the day | ends in -a, but masculine |
| el idioma | the language | ends in -a, but masculine |
| la mano | the hand | ends in -o, but feminine |
| la foto | the photo | short for la fotografía |
| la moto | the motorbike | short for la motocicleta |
The trick with "el agua"
Agua (water) is feminine. So why do we say el agua?
Say la agua out loud: the two "a" sounds crash together. When a feminine word starts with a stressed a-, Spanish uses el (and un) in the singular, just to make it easier to say. The word is still feminine, so everything else around it stays feminine:
Feminine words that take "el"
- el agua fríathe cold water
- las aguasthe waters (back to las in the plural)
- el hambrehunger
- un águilaan eagle
That's why it's Tengo mucha hambre, not mucho, from the tener class: hambre takes el, but it's feminine.
Other endings
Not every word ends in -o or -a. Some endings are good bets:
| Ending | Usually | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ción, -sión | feminine | la canción, la televisión |
| -dad, -tad | feminine | la ciudad, la libertad |
| -or | masculine | el color, el doctor |
| -e or any other letter | learn it with the article | el café, la noche, el lápiz, la luz |
Make everything match
Adjectives change with the noun too. Masculine noun, masculine adjective. Plural noun, plural adjective. Spanish calls it concordancia: agreement.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | el carro rojo | los carros rojos |
| Feminine | la casa roja | las casas rojas |
Adjectives that end in -e or a consonant don't change for gender, only for number: el carro grande, la casa grande, las casas grandes.
Common mistakes
✗La problema.
✓El problema.
A VIP exception: -ma words are usually masculine.
✗El mano.
✓La mano.
Ends in -o, but feminine.
✗La agua.
✓El agua.
Feminine word starting with a stressed a-: el in the singular.
✗El agua está frío.
✓El agua está fría.
Agua is still feminine, so the adjective is feminine.
✗La casa es blanco.
✓La casa es blanca.
Feminine noun, feminine adjective.
Put it together
Here's the sentence from class:
El agua está fría y la casa es grande.
- el agua: feminine, but el because it starts with a stressed a-
- fría: feminine, because agua is feminine
- la casa: ends in -a, feminine
- grande: ends in -e, the same for masculine and feminine
And now as a conversation in the kitchen:
Tengo mucha sed. ¿Tienes agua?
I'm really thirsty. Do you have water?
Sí, el agua está en la mesa.
Yes, the water is on the table.
¿Está fría?
Is it cold?
Sí, muy fría. ¿Tienes hambre también?
Yes, very cold. Are you hungry too?
Sí. ¿Tienes unas tortillas?
Yes. Do you have some tortillas?
Tengo las tortillas y la salsa, pero no tengo el queso.
I have the tortillas and the salsa, but I don't have the cheese.
No es un problema. Un taco sin queso también es un taco.
It's not a problem. A taco without cheese is still a taco.
Now make it yours: look around the room and name five things with el or la. Then say what you have, with un or una: Tengo un perro, tengo una mesa…
Test yourself
✍️ Six quick questions
0/6
1.___ mapa (the map)
2.___ mano (the hand)
3.___ agua (the water)
4.El agua está ___. (The water is cold.)
5.___ ciudad (the city)
6.las ___ (the red houses)
Cheat sheet
Gender and articles at a glance
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| the | el / los | la / las |
| a, some | un / unos | una / unas |
| Usually ends in | -o, -or, -ma | -a, -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad |
| VIP exceptions | el día, el mapa, el problema | la mano, la foto, la moto |
Two contractions you'll see everywhere: a + el becomes al (Voy al mercado) and de + el becomes del (Soy del norte). With la, nothing changes: a la casa, de la casa.