{"id":1066,"date":"2022-09-02T05:53:41","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T05:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escuela-hablamos.com\/?p=1066"},"modified":"2022-08-10T13:21:05","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T13:21:05","slug":"spanish-masculine-and-feminine-a-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escuela-hablamos.com\/ko\/spanish-masculine-and-feminine-a-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish masculine and feminine \u2013 a guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is a car masculine? Is a flower feminine? Why does it matter?<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Well, if you’re learning Spanish<\/strong> you definitely need to know which gender<\/strong> to use with nouns and adjectives. This is because every noun<\/strong> is either masculine or feminine<\/strong> and this affects the words you use for the and a<\/strong>, as well as the spelling of the adjectives<\/strong> you use with them. Confused? You won’t be after you’ve read our guide!<\/p>\n

So, first things first, let’s look at the different genders<\/strong> and how that affects the articles<\/strong> we use. There are two<\/strong> types of articles, el art\u00edculo definido (the definite article<\/em>)<\/strong> and el art\u00edculo indefinido (the indefinite article<\/em>)<\/strong>. These are fancy terms for the and a\/an<\/strong>. Look at this table and you’ll see what we mean:<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
El art\u00edculo definido (the<\/em>)<\/td>\nEl art\u00edculo indefinido (a\/an<\/em>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nSingular<\/td>\nPlural<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSingular<\/td>\nPlural<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Masculine<\/td>\nel<\/td>\nlos<\/td>\nMasculine<\/td>\nun\/uno<\/td>\nunos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Feminine<\/td>\nla<\/td>\nlas<\/td>\nFeminine<\/td>\nuna<\/td>\nunas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n<\/div>

Once you understand this table, then the next section will make more sense (tendr\u00e1 m\u00e1s sentido)<\/strong>. You really must memorise the grid above as you’ll always need to use these words when speaking and writing in Spanish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Right, so how can we tell whether a word is masculine or feminine<\/strong>? We can look at some rules (reglas)<\/strong> that you can use to help you, but please remember that there are always exceptions<\/strong> and you’ll just have to learn those separately.<\/p>\n<\/div>

1. Words that end in \u201co\u201d are usually masculine<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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This is a basic rule, and works most of the time<\/strong>. The vast majority of words which end in \u201co\u201d take a masculine article and adjective. For example:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • El m\u00e9dico<\/strong> \u2013 The doctor<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Un zapato<\/strong> \u2013 A shoe<\/em><\/li>\n
  • El gato negro<\/strong> \u2013 The black cat (which reads \u201cthe cat black\u201d)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u00a1Ojo! (Be careful<\/em>!)<\/strong> \u2013 some common words which end in \u201co\u201d are actually feminine<\/strong>. For instance:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • La mano<\/strong> \u2013 The hand<\/em><\/li>\n
    • La radio<\/strong> \u2013 The radio<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      You’ll just have to learn these<\/strong> as you see or hear them when practising your Spanish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

      2. Most words ending in \u201ca\u201d are feminine
      <\/span><\/h2><\/div>
      <\/div><\/div>

      Another basic idea to learn is that most<\/strong> words with an \u201ca\u201d at the end take a feminine article and adjective. Let’s see a few examples:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • La camisa<\/strong> \u2013 The shirt<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Una tortuga<\/strong> \u2013 A turtle\/tortoise <\/em><\/li>\n
      • Una lata azul <\/strong> \u2013 A blue can<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        But, just like with rule 1, there are some \u201ca\u201d words which are masculine<\/strong>. These often end in \u201cma\u201d or \u201cpa\u201d, like:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • El mapa<\/strong> \u2013 The map<\/em><\/li>\n
        • Un problema<\/strong> \u2013 A problem<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \n<\/div>

          3. If a word ends with an accented vowel (e.g. \u201c\u00ed\u201d) or a consonant other than \u201cd\u201d or \u201cz\u201d, it is probably masculine<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
          <\/div><\/div>

          Now we are getting into the realm of probably<\/strong> as, like I’ve said before, there are always exceptions<\/strong>. Here are some of examples of words which follow this rule<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Un tumor<\/strong> \u2013 A tumour <\/em><\/li>\n
          • El at\u00fan<\/strong> \u2013 The tuna<\/em><\/li>\n
          • Un colibr\u00ed<\/strong> \u2013 A hummingbird <\/em><\/li>\n
          • El papel<\/strong> \u2013 The paper<\/em><\/li>\n
          • Un autob\u00fas<\/strong> \u2013 A bus<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            \n<\/div>

            4. Certain endings like \u201ci\u00f3n\u201d, \u201cd\u201d and \u201cz\u201d are likely to be feminine<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
            <\/div><\/div>

            You’ve probably guessed by now that this rule, like all the others so far, also isn’t 100% infallible. However, it will help you to identify a feminine word in most cases<\/strong>. Words which are feminine in this category include:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • La ciudad<\/strong> \u2013 The city<\/em><\/li>\n
            • Una estaci\u00f3n<\/strong> \u2013 A station<\/em><\/li>\n
            • La nariz<\/strong> \u2013 The nose<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              \n<\/div>

              5. Some words you have to learn that they’re masculine or feminine because they just are<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
              <\/div><\/div>

              If you’ve followed the guidelines above and still got the wrong gender, you’ve found one of the many exceptions<\/strong>. The best way to improve your Spanish<\/strong>, as with any other language, is to read and listen<\/strong> to as much material as possible to you can pick up the exceptions<\/strong> in a more natural way. Then, when you practise speaking and writing Spanish<\/strong>, you’ll be less likely to make mistakes (cometer errores)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

              6. Gender also affects the spelling of the adjectives used to describe nouns<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
              <\/div><\/div>

              A final point to make is that the adjectives (adjetivos)<\/strong> we use to describe our nouns (sustantivos)<\/strong> change their spelling<\/strong> according to the gender<\/strong> and number<\/strong> of the nouns used. It’s quite straightforward (sencillo)<\/strong> \u2013 just look at the table below for how this works.<\/p>\n<\/div>

              <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
              Adjectives ending in \u201co\u201d<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nSingular<\/td>\nPlural<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSingular<\/td>\nPlural<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Masculine<\/td>\nEl\/Un perro negro<\/td>\nLos\/Unos perros negros<\/td>\nMasculine<\/td>\nThe\/A black dog<\/td>\nThe\/Some black dogs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Feminine<\/td>\nLa\/Una silla negra<\/td>\nLas\/Unas sillas negras<\/td>\nFeminine<\/td>\nThe\/A black chair<\/td>\nThe\/Some black chairs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

              \n<\/div>

              <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
              Other adjectives<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nSingular<\/td>\nPlural<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSingular<\/td>\nPlural<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Masculine<\/td>\nEl\/Un coche verde<\/td>\nLos\/Unos coches verdes<\/td>\nMasculine<\/td>\nThe\/A green car<\/td>\nThe\/Some green cars<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Feminine<\/td>\nLa\/Una puerta marr\u00f3n<\/td>\nLas\/Unas puertas marrones<\/td>\nFeminine<\/td>\nThe\/A brown door<\/td>\nThe\/Some brown doors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

              \n<\/div>

              Like the other elements of gender, we do have a couple of adjectives which don’t follow<\/strong> these patterns. For example, naranja (orange<\/em>)<\/strong> never takes an \u201co\u201d at the end and becomes naranjas<\/strong> in the plural form. You’ll soon get the hang of all this once you start studying Spanish<\/strong> and using it on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

              There you have it! A quick guide to gender<\/strong> in Spanish just to help you get started understanding how nouns<\/strong> and adjectives<\/strong> work in this amazing language.<\/p>\n<\/div>

              If you want to learn more about Spanish grammar, and develop your language skills, come and take a course here at Hablamos<\/mark>. We love helping you to understand this global language and are waiting for you to join us! Hablamos – full-on Spanish!<\/mark>
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