🧠 Words gender in Spanish: How to tell masculine, feminine or common words

🎯 How to identify gender in Spanish words

In Spanish, all nouns have a gender. Most are clearly masculine or feminine, and their endings usually give clues about their gender 👀

Let’s break it down into three groups: masculine 💙, feminine 💖 and common gender ⚖️

💙 Masculine nouns (use 'el')

Typical endings:

🔵 -o → el perro 🐶 (the dog), el libro 📖 (the book)

🔵 -ma / ema → el problema ❗ (the problem), el idioma 🗣️ (the language), el sistema 🧩 (the system)

🔵 -r / -l / -n / -s → el motor 🚗 (the motor), el papel 📄 (the paper), el tren 🚆 (the train), el mes 📅 (the month)

🔵 -aje → el equipaje 🎒 (luggage), el garaje 🅿️ (garage), el paisaje 🌄 (landscape)

🔵 -or → el color  🎨 (colour), el calor 🔥 (heat), el humor 😄 (humour)

✅ Also masculine:

📅 Days of the week → el lunes (Monday)

🌞 Months and seasons → el enero (January), el verano (summer)

🌍 Languages → el español (Spanish), el inglés (English)

🔢 Numbers → el uno (one), el cien (one hundred)

⚠️ Exceptions (masculine despite looking feminine):

🌞 el día (the day)

🗺️ el mapa (the map)

🪐 el planeta (the planet)

☁️ el clima (the climate)

🛋️ el sofá (the sofa)

💖 Feminine nouns (use 'la')

Typical endings:

🌸 -a → la casa 🏠 (the house), la gata 🐱 (the female cat)

🎵 -ción / -sión → la televisión 📺 (the television), la canción (the song)

🏙️ -dad / -tad / -tud → la ciudad (the city), la libertad (freedom), la juventud (youth)

🧶 -umbre / -ie / -z → la costumbre (the custom), la serie (the series), la luz (the light)

✅ Also feminine:

🔤 Letters of the alphabet → la hache (H), la a (A)

🏝️ Islands → Las Islas Canarias (Canary Islands)

🍊 Fruits from masculine trees → la naranja (the orange – from 'el naranjo')

⚠️ Exceptions (feminine despite looking masculine):

✋ la mano (the hand)

📻 la radio (the radio)

🏍️ la moto (the motorbike – short for 'motocicleta')

🌸 la flor (flower – ends in -or but is feminine)

⚖️ Common gender nouns (same word for both 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️)

Some Spanish nouns use the same form for both masculine and feminine. We call these common gender nouns. They don’t change — only the article (el / la) and adjectives do.

🔤 Common endings:

👨‍🎨 -ista → el artista / la artista (the artist)

👩‍🎓 -e → el estudiante / la estudiante (the student)

🎤 -nte → el cantante / la cantante (the singer), el gerente / la gerente (the manager)

🧭 -a (in some professions) → el guía / la guía (the guide), el policía / la policía (the police officer)

🗣️ el cantante famoso (the famous male singer) / la cantante famosa (the famous female singer)

⚠️ Some words like modelo or 'guía' can have different meanings depending on gender (la guía = guidebook 📘, el guía = tour guide 🧍‍♂️)

❓ Do all Spanish words have a gender?

👉 Yes! Every noun is either masculine or feminine — even abstract or neutral concepts.

🧩 Examples:

❤️ el amor – love

🌱 la vida – life

😨 el miedo – fear

✨ la esperanza – hope

That’s why it’s super important to learn every noun with its article! 📌

💬 Why is gender important in Spanish?

Because it affects:

🔠 The article → el / la

📝 The adjective → el coche rápido (the fast car), la casa bonita (the pretty house)

🧠 Even the meaning → el cura (the priest) ≠ la cura (the cure)

⚡ Using the wrong gender can make your Spanish sound strange or even change the message completely!

🎓 Tips to learn gender faster

🧠 Handy tricks:

📌 Learn every noun with its article → el zapato, la mochila

🎨 Use colours or emojis to mark gender in your notes

🧠 Make vocabulary groups by gender

🎲 Practise with quizzes or games

🎮 Want to test yourself?

💬 Do you have questions about the gender of a particular word?

Tell us in the comments! 👇🇪🇸