Spanish Nouns and Gender – Definition, Examples, Uses

Every Spanish noun has a grammatical gender: it is classified as either masculine or feminine. This is one of the first differences English speakers notice, because English nouns are mostly neutral.

For example:

• el libro (the book, masculine)
• la casa (the house, feminine)

Grammatical gender does not necessarily reflect biological gender. A table (la mesa) is feminine, and a book (el libro) is masculine. These classifications are simply part of how the language works.

Predicting Gender

Some patterns help you predict gender. Most nouns ending in -o are masculine, and most ending in -a are feminine:

• el perro (the dog)
• la escuela (the school)

Exceptions are common, so the safest strategy is to memorise each noun together with its article.

Articles Agree with the Noun

Gender also affects the articles placed before nouns. Spanish has both definite and indefinite articles, and each must agree with the noun in gender and number.

Fun fact: a few nouns change meaning depending on their gender, for example el cura (the priest) and la cura (the cure).