How to tell noun gender rules in Spanish

Spanish noun gender rules can be generally determined by the endings of the nouns and articles that accompany them. Here are the main guidelines:

• Nouns ending in “-o” are typically masculine (e.g., el gato - the male cat).
• Nouns ending in “-a” are typically feminine (e.g., la casa - the house).
• Nouns ending in consonants or “-e” can be either masculine or feminine and need to be memorized or learned in context (e.g., el café - masculine, la calle - feminine).
• Some endings that are mostly feminine include “-ción,” “-sión,” “-dad,” “-tad,” and “-za” (e.g., la canción - the song, la ciudad - the city).
• Some endings that are mostly masculine include “-aje,” “-ambre,” “-or,” and “-ín” (e.g., el paisaje - the landscape, el tambor - the drum).
• Articles are an important clue: “el,” “un,” “los,” “unos” for masculine nouns and “la,” “una,” “las,” “unas” for feminine nouns.
• There are exceptions, such as “el día” (day) which is masculine and “la mano” (hand) which is feminine, regardless of their endings.

For groups including both masculine and feminine nouns, the masculine plural form is used as an inclusive form.

These rules are helpful starting points, but some nouns need to be learned individually due to exceptions and irregularities.

References

• How do you know the gender of Spanish nouns?

• Gender of nouns in Spanish - BBC Bitesize

• Gender of Nouns in Spanish Grammar

• 6 Easy Rules for Masculine and Feminine Gender in Spanish

• The basic guide to gender rules in Spanish

• Lesser-known rules to determine noun gender : r/Spanish

• How to know if a Noun is Masculine or Feminine Spanish …

• Masculine & Feminine in Spanish: Learn Noun Gender

• Gender of Nouns - Spanish Grammar