The Gender of Spanish Nouns Ending in Something Other than "o" and "a"

Explanation

   As stated before, Spanish nouns that end in o are generally masculine. The same way, nouns that end in a are generally feminine. However, this rule changes sometimes. For example, hombre (un hombre = a man), ends in e, but it's considered masculine due to the nature of the word. The word mujer ends in r, but it's considered feminine due to the nature of the word (una mujer = a woman).
   Nouns ending in ma are typically masculine since they are from Greek origin. For example, el clima (the weather), el sistema (the system).
   Nouns ending in ción and dad are genrally feminine. For example, la canción (the song), la ciudad (the city).
   Other nouns do not follow other rules. We learn then by context. For example,  el papel (paper), la calle (street), etc.
   Finally, days of the week, colors, and numbers are always masculine in Spanish.

More Examples

-ma

  •  el cinema (the movie theater)
  • el tema (the topic)
  • el problema (the problem)
  • el sistema (the sistem
  • el idioma (the language

-ción

  • la canción (the song)
  • la función (the function)
  • la actuación (the acting)
  • la solución (the solution)
  • la conclusión (the conclusion)

-dad

  • una ciudad (a city)
  • una universidad (a university)
  • una amistad (a friendship)
  • la lealtad (loyalty)
  • la bondad (kindness)
  • la curiosidad (curiosity)

Other

  • el equipaje (the luggage)
  • el traje (the suit)
  • el jabón (soap)
  • la clase (the class)
  • la noche (the  night)
  • la nube (the cloud)

Audio

Listen to this audio clip to check your answers. Repeat after me to practice your pronunciation.

Grammar Practice