Let's talk about gender. How do you know if a word like leche (milk) or mapa (map) is feminine or masculine? Let's explore some rules (and exceptions) that will help you to identify the gender of inanimate objects in Spanish. Please, keep in mind that we will use the definite articles el (masculine) and la (feminine) in order to better recognize the gender of the nouns we are mentioning throughout this article.
Generally speaking, nouns that end in -o are masculine while those ending in -a are feminine. Let's see some of the most common objects that follow this rule:
El libro (the book)
El baño (the bathroom)
El piano (the piano)
El diccionario (the dictionary)
El asiento (the seat)
La casa (the house)
La cama (the bed)
La lámpara (the lamp)
La cocina (the kitchen)
La caja (the box)
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Let's look at some of the most common ones.
La mano derecha se colocará en esta posición llamada acorde de LA mayor,
The right hand will be placed in this position called A major chord,
Caption 1, Curso de guitarra Para los que empiezan desde cero - Part 1
Play Caption
Es la foto de mis abuelos, es mi familia.
It's a photo of my grandparents. It's my family.
Caption 5, Yago 3 La foto - Part 8
Play Caption
Y bueno, el día llega a su fin, y llegas a casa a relajarte,
And well, the day comes to an end, and you get home to relax,
Captions 80-81, Natalia de Ecuador Vocabulario de prendas de vestir
Play Caption
Por ejemplo: problema, el problema, mapa, el mapa.
For example: problem, the problem, map, the map.
Captions 16-17, Isabel El Género Gramatical - Masculino y Femenino
Play Caption
¿Y pudieron conocer el planeta de su amigo?
And were you able to see your friend's planet?
Caption 31, Guillermina y Candelario Un marciano en la playa - Part 2
Play Caption
cuando utilizamos el idioma español. Entonces, vamos a hablar entonces ya.
when we use the Spanish language. So, then we are going to talk now.
Captions 5-6, Lecciones con Carolina Errores comunes - Part 5
Play Caption
There is no particular rule for this group. Some of the nouns here are masculine while others are feminine. Some examples:
eh... los ordeñadores pasan a pesar la leche para ver la cantidad que produce cada una
um... the milkers go on to weigh the milk to check the quantity that each one produces
Captions 54-55, Gustavo Adolfo Su finca lechera
Play Caption
Se arma el árbol, el pesebre, los niños llevan sus instrumentos musicales.
The tree is set up, the manger, the children carry their musical instruments.
Caption 40, Lida y Cleer Buñuelos
Play Caption
La India Catalina era la líder de la tribu indígena
India Catalina was the leader of the indigenous tribe
Caption 26, Viajando en Colombia Cartagena en coche - Part 3
Play Caption
Let's look at some examples in this group:
Me relajo y contemplo el paisaje.
I relax and I look at the landscape.
Captions 30-31, Natalia de Ecuador Los adverbios de orden
Play Caption
Cuando me llega el dolor yo me arreglo
When pain hits me I manage
Caption 6, Jorge Celedón, Vicentico Si Me Dejan
Play Caption
¿Puedo ver el menú por favor?
Can I see the menu please?
Caption 12, Cata y Cleer En el restaurante
Play Caption
La ciencia nunca falla, caballero.
Science never fails, sir.
Caption 39, Los casos de Yabla Problemas de convivencia - Part 3
Play Caption
la acentuación es la acción y efecto de acentuar,
accentuation is the action and effect of accenting,
Caption 13, Carlos explica Acentuación Cap. 1: Conceptos básicos
Play Caption
Mi hijo quiere estudiar inglés o japonés el próximo año en la universidad.
My son wants to study English or Japanese next year in college.
Caption 25, Lecciones con Carolina Conjunciones disyuntivas
Play Caption
Tenemos el océano Pacífico y el océano Atlántico
We have the Pacific ocean and the Atlantic ocean
Caption 24, Melany de Guatemala País de la Eterna Primavera
Play Caption
El martes, también salí por la noche.
On Tuesday, I also went out at night.
Caption 11, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: El pasado
Play Caption
y que el cien por cien de las ganancias pues iban destinadas a la coalición española
and one hundred percent of the profits were going to the Spanish coalition
Caption 45, David Bisbal Haciendo Premonición Live - Part 7
Play Caption
el azul, donde echamos el papel, cartón, revistas,
the blue one, where we throw away paper, cardboard, magazines,
Caption 4, Rosa Reciclar
Play Caption
Eh... Les recomiendo que vengan a visitar las islas Galápagos.
Um... I recommend that you come to visit the Galapagos Islands.
Caption 1, Galápagos Una visita a este archipiélago
Play Caption
que queda ubicado sobre la Avenida Jiménez,
which is located on Jiminez Avenue,
Caption 47, Bogotá Chorro de Quevedo
Play Caption
Me gustaría referirme a la pronunciación de dos letras, la "elle" y la "ye".
I'd like to refer to the pronunciation of two letters, the "double l" and the "y."
Captions 6-8, Carlos y Cyndy La pronunciación en Colombia y Argentina
Play Caption
There are some inanimate nouns that can be either feminine or masculine, which means both forms are accepted.
El mar / la mar (the sea). For this noun, the masculine form is used more often.
El maratón / la maratón (the marathon). Both forms are accepted.
El arte / las artes (the arts). Usually the masculine form is used in the singular and the feminine one in the plural.
El sartén / la sartén (the pan). While the masculine noun is the most frequently used, some countries in the Americas tend to favor the feminine form.
There are various words that are almost identical but they differ in meaning. Very often, indeed, you can fully grasp that difference by bringing the gender variable into it. Let's see some examples:
El cuchillo (the knife) / La cuchilla (the blade)
El barco (the ship) / La barca (the boat)
El bolso (the purse) / La bolsa (the bag)
El puerto (the port) / la puerta (the door)
El cuadro (the painting) / La cuadra (the block)
El manzano (the apple tree) / La manzana (the apple)
That's it for today. We hope you find this lesson useful and we invite you to send us your comments and suggestions.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Español
Inglés
Francés
Alemán
Italiano
English
Français
Deutsch
Español 
Italiano
Português
