Nouns
Start first lessonExplanation
Masculine nouns often end in the following letters:
- o
- -ma
- á, é, í, ó, or ú
- consonants that are not d or z
Feminine nouns often end in the following letters:
- a
- d
- z
- -ión
True or false? Masculine nouns always end in -o and feminine nouns always end in -a.
False!
It would be nice if it was that straightforward, but it isn’t. In this article, we’re going to take a look at those tricky nouns that don’t follow the easy o and a rules.
Need to review masculine and feminine nouns? Check out this article.
Tricky Masculine Nouns
Masculine nouns often end in the following letters:
- o
- -ma
- an accented vowel, like á, é, í, ó, or ú
- consonants that are not d or z
Let’s see some examples of masculine nouns that don’t end in o:
Tricky Feminine Nouns
Feminine nouns often end in the following letters:
- a
- d
- z
- -ión
Let’s see some examples of feminine nouns that don’t end in a:
Feminine Nouns That Use the Masculine Article, El
Ok, another quiz. True or false? All feminine nouns always use la as the article.
False!!
Singular feminine nouns that start with stressed a or ha sounds use the masculine singular article, el. Why? For the same reason we use an instead of a in English—two as together are very difficult to pronounce!
What singular feminine nouns use el? Here are a few examples:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el agua | water |
| el águila | eagle |
| el ala | wing |
| el alma | soul |
| el ancla | anchor |
| el área | area |
| el arma | weapon |
| el aula | classroom |
| el ave | bird |
| el habla | speech |
| el hada | fairy |
| el hambre | hunger |
Note that when these nouns are plural, you use the feminine plural article las.
The Trickiest of Tricky Nouns: Nouns with Masculine and Feminine Forms
Some nouns are written exactly the same, but can be masculine or feminine. Depending on their gender, their meaning also changes. Here are some examples:
Do you need to review articles in Spanish? Check out this article!
Many nouns referring to professions only have one form. The article used with these nouns changes depending on whether the person is male or female. For example:
Ready to learn more about other tricky words in Spanish? Check out these articles!
