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Masculine and Feminine

Preface

In English there is no distinction between masculine and feminine at all, neither in verb conjugations or in nouns.
In Spanish verb conjugations are not distinguished by gender (e.g. Yo voy I go, masculine and feminine), though nouns are distinguished by gender (see below).

 

Masculine and Feminine in Spanish

Nouns ending in the letter 'O' are usually masculine, while nouns ending in the letter ‘A’ are usually feminine. For example 'niño' (boy) and 'niña' (girl) are words that follow this rule. If a word ends in any other letter, there is no clear rule to aid us in differentiating the word by gender. Thus, we must rely on our experience in the language to distinguish such nouns by gender.

Note that not all words ending in o/a have both genders. For instance, the word 'cama' (bed) is feminine and has no masculine form.


 

Masculine and Feminine in Spanish

Gender-Specific Nouns/Adjectives

 

      

Masculino

Femenino

English

Chico

Chica

Boy / Girl

Tío

Tía

Uncle / aunt

Lindo

Linda

Beautiful

Rojo

Roja

Red

Perro

Perra

Dog

Gato

Gata

Cat

Hermano

Hermana

Brother/Sister

Amigo

Amiga

Friend

 


 
 

Nouns in Which the Gender is Arbitrary

 

 

    
Femenino FeminineMasculino Masculine

 Pelota

Ball

Cine

Cinema

Hoja, Página

Page  

Hombre

Man

Noche

Night

Dinero

Money

Tarde

Evening

Reloj

Watch

Mochila

Backpack

Precio

Price

Cama

Bed

Libro

Book

Plaza

Square

Zapato

Shoe

Cámara

Camera

Papel

Paper

 


 

Irregulars

Nouns that End in the Letter ‘O’, but are Feminine

 

La mano (hand), La foto (photograph)

 

 

Nouns that End in the Letter ‘A’, but are Masculine

El día (day), El mapa (map)

 


 

Determining a Noun’s Gender

Nouns Ending in the Suffix ‘-MA’, and that originate from Latin or Greek are Usually Masculine

 

Problema (problem), Panorama (landscape), Programa (plan, program)

 


 

Feminine suffixes:

 

Nouns Ending in the Suffixes TUD, DAD, SIÓN, CIÓN, TAD, are  Always Feminine

Ciudad (city), Juventud (youth), Situación (situation), Libertad (freedom), Verdad (truth), Amistad (friendship)

 


 
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