The rule, in plain English
Spanish nouns have grammatical gender, and their articles and agreeing adjectives reflect that gender and number. Endings are useful clues, not guarantees: -o is often masculine and -a often feminine, while -ción, -sión, and -dad are normally feminine and -aje is normally masculine. Learn each noun with its article. A feminine singular noun beginning with stressed a- or ha- usually takes el or un for sound reasons, but it remains feminine: el agua fría, un águila blanca, las aguas frías.
Why it's hard for English speakers
English does not assign grammatical gender to everyday objects. Spanish therefore requires an extra decision every time you choose an article or an adjective. Patterns reduce the work, but common exceptions such as el problema and la mano still need to be learned as complete chunks.
Definite and indefinite articles
| Gender and number | Definite: the | Indefinite: a / some | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | el | un | el libro / un libro |
| Feminine singular | la | una | la mesa / una mesa |
| Masculine plural | los | unos | los libros / unos libros |
| Feminine plural | las | unas | las mesas / unas mesas |
Useful gender clues—not absolute rules
| Ending or type | Usually | Examples | Remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| -o | masculine | el libro, el banco | Exception: la mano |
| -a | feminine | la casa, la mesa | Exceptions: el día, el mapa |
| -ción / -sión | feminine | la estación, la televisión | Use la / las |
| -dad / -tad | feminine | la ciudad, la libertad | Use la / las |
| -umbre | feminine | la costumbre | Use la / las |
| -aje | masculine | el viaje, el paisaje | Use el / los |
| many Greek-derived -ma nouns | masculine | el problema, el sistema | Not every -ma noun: la cama |
| abbreviated nouns | keep original gender | la foto, la moto | fotografía / motocicleta |
Feminine nouns beginning with stressed a- or ha-
| Context | Article or determiner | Noun + adjective | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definite singular | el | el agua fría | el avoids adjacent stressed a sounds |
| Indefinite singular | un | un águila blanca | un is normally used before stressed a |
| Definite plural | las | las aguas frías | normal feminine article returns |
| Indefinite plural | unas | unas aulas grandes | normal feminine article returns |
| Demonstrative | esta | esta hacha vieja | the noun is still feminine |
High-frequency exceptions to learn with the article
| Masculine despite the ending | Feminine despite the ending |
|---|---|
| el problema | la mano |
| el sistema | la foto |
| el tema | la moto |
| el día | la radio |
| el mapa | la flor |
Example sentence bank
Shuffling examples…
Common mistakes
- la problemael problemaProblema is one of many Greek-derived -ma nouns that are masculine.
- el manola manoMano is a common feminine exception; learn it as la mano.
- el agua fríoel agua fríaEl is used for sound, but agua remains feminine and takes fría.
- los ciudades grandeslas ciudades grandesCiudad is feminine, so its plural article is las.
Practice
___ día
___ mano
the white houses = las casas ___
___ mapa
___ problema difícil
___ foto antigua
some interesting cities = ___ ciudades interesantes
Choose the correct phrase.