Learn the basics of Spanish with this easy-to-understand course Chapter -2

we said that Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine, that
nouns ending in –o tend to be masculine, whilst those
ending in –a tend to be feminine.

There are, however, some exceptions to this rule.

Common examples of nouns ending in –a which are masculine are:

clima .................... climate

día ........................ day

idioma ................... language

mapa .................... map

planeta .................. planeta

poema ................... poem

problema ............... problem

programa ............... programme

sistema .................. system

sofá ........................ sofa

telegrama ............... telegramme

tema ....................... theme, subject

In the same way, some nouns which end in –o are classed as being
feminine, although there are not so many of them. Examples are:

mano ....................... hand

radio ........................ radio

Singular Nouns – Part III

Unfortunately, not all Spanish nouns end in –o or –a.

1. Nouns ending in –d and –z tend to be feminine, as in:

edad .................... age

paz ...................... peace

2. Nouns ending in –ión tend to be feminine, as in:

canción ............... song

religión ................ religion

3. Nouns ending in –e tend to be masculine, as in:

aceite ................. oil

diente ................. tooth

4. Nouns ending in –n tend to be masculine, as in:

andén ................ pavement/sidewalk

corazón .............. heart

5. Nouns ending in –r tend to be masculine, as in:

azúcar ................ sugar

lugar ................... place

6. Nouns ending in –l tend to be masculine, as in:

ángel .................. angel

hotel ................... hotel

7. Singular nouns ending in –s tend to be masculine, as in:

autobús .............. bus

interés ................ interest

Added to that, masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a
corresponding feminine form that ends in –a:

profesor/a ................ teacher

doctor/a ................... doctor