Kilo Lingo
Spanish grammar Part of Chapter 2

CEFR A1-A2

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Test yourself (30 questions)

Spanish Noun Gender: The -o/-a Rule and Its Exceptions

By Michael McGettrick and Sergio Linares-HernandesUpdated 11 October 2026

Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and the ending gives it away far more often than learners fear: (the book) is masculine, (the house) feminine. One rule, a few endings and one short exception list cover almost everything a beginner meets.

masculinefeminineWhat do the colours mean?
EndingGenderExampleEnglish
-omasculine the book
-afeminine the house
-ción, -siónfeminine the song
-dad, -tad, -tudfeminine the truth
-ma (Greek)masculine the problem
exceptionslearn them , day, hand

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each phrase has one gender mistake. Tap it.

What gender actually is

Gender is a filing system for words, not a description of things. A house is not feminine in any real sense; the word is filed as feminine, and the article shows the file.

  • - the house (feminine)
  • - the car (masculine)

There is no logic to find for objects, which is good news: nothing needs understanding, only storing. Store each noun with its article welded on, rather than , and the gender comes free every time you use the word.

The baseline rule: -o masculine, -a feminine

Nouns ending in -o are masculine and nouns ending in -a are feminine, well over nine times in ten, and more often still among common words.

SpanishEnglishGender
the yearmasculine
the timemasculine
the thingfeminine
lifefeminine

When you meet a new noun in -o or -a and nobody says otherwise, bet on the rule:

  • . - It's a good year.
  • . - It's a good thing.

Nouns ending in -e or another consonant give no clue: (the car) but (the night). Learn those with the article.

The near-certain feminine endings

Four ending families are feminine with almost no exceptions.

EndingSpanishEnglish
-ción, -sión television
-dad, -tad the city
-tud attitude
-umbre custom

They matter because English -tion and -ty words map onto them again and again:

  • - the nation
  • - the university
  • - freedom

The Greek -ma group: masculine despite the -a

A group of nouns in -ma came into Spanish from Greek, and they are masculine. They include some of the most common nouns in the language.

SpanishEnglish
problem
topic
system
language
programme

The adjective follows the masculine article:

  • . - It's a big problem.

Not every noun in -ma is Greek. Everyday words follow the normal rule: (the bed) is feminine. Abstract or technical -ma words are the ones to suspect.

The famous exceptions

The genuinely irregular cases fit in one table. Learn it early and the rules become safe everywhere else.

SpanishEnglishWhy it surprises
the day-a, but masculine
the hand-o, but feminine
the photoshort for
the motorbikeshort for
the map-a, but masculine
the planet-a, but masculine
the sofa-a, but masculine
the radioshort for radiodifusión
  • the day the day
  • the hand the hand
  • the map the map
  • the motorbike the motorbike
  • the sofa the sofa
  • the photo the photo

The short words keep the gender of the long word they were cut from. In much of Latin America the radio set is .

is the one that matters most, because you say it from day one. The adjective in the greeting is masculine to match:

  • - good morning
  • - a good day

Feminine nouns that take el

(the water) looks masculine and is not. A feminine noun that starts with a stressed a- sound takes in the singular, but its adjective stays feminine:

  • - the cold water

That small group has its own page: el agua and the feminine nouns that take el.

Why gender matters: the agreement cascade

Gender does not stay inside the noun. It decides the article, every adjective and the pronoun that replaces the noun.

What agreesMasculineFeminine
the
a
adjective
pronoun (the dog) (the house)
Four panels: a white house with a lilac roof and a blue door; a white dog with grey ears and a blue collar; a black cat with yellow eyes; a red car.

The house and the dog are the same white, but casa is feminine and perro masculine, so the colour ends in -a for one and -o for the other.

One decision, four places it shows up, all in one sentence:

  • . . - The dog is white. I can see it.
  • . . - The house is white. I can see it.

That is why a gender slip is so : in , two of three words are wrong. The adjective agreement page has the full set of adjective endings.

Nouns for people

For people, the word usually follows the person. There are three patterns.

PatternMasculineFeminine
-o becomes -a (son) (daughter)
-or adds -a (Mr) (Mrs)
one form, -ista, -e
  • . - My sister is a student.
  • . - The (male) artist and the (female) artist.

A few nouns keep one gender whoever they describe. is always feminine, so a man can be one, adjectives and all:

  • Juan . - Juan is a good person.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
is masculine
is feminine
Greek -ma nouns are masculine
the article and adjective both agree
is feminine despite
is always feminine

What to do next

  1. Learn every new noun with its article: , .
  2. Copy the exceptions table onto a card.
  3. Then noun plurals: becomes .

See also

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/10

Sort each noun into el or la. Watch for the famous exceptions.

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each phrase has one gender mistake. Tap it.

Pick the right one

0/6

Pick the correct definite article, el or la, for each noun.

  1. casa (the house)

  2. día (the day - famous exception)

  3. verdad (the truth - the -dad ending)

  4. cosa (the thing)

  5. hombre (the man)

  6. vez (the time, the occasion)

Fill in the blank

0/5

Fill the gap with the correct indefinite article, un or una.

  1. Es casa. (It is a house.)

  2. Es día bueno. (It is a good day.) (día is masculine despite the -a)

  3. Es cosa buena. (It is a good thing.)

  4. Es problema. (It is a problem.) (a Greek -ma noun)

  5. Es señor. (He is a gentleman.)

Translation drill

0/5

Translate into Spanish. Choose the article that matches the noun's gender, and make the adjective agree.

  1. the day

  2. the truth

  3. a good thing

  4. a good man

  5. the hand

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Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. Table 1
  3. The baseline rule: -o masculine, -a feminine
  4. The near-certain feminine endings
  5. The Greek -ma group: masculine despite the -a
  6. The famous exceptions
  7. Why gender matters: the agreement cascade
  8. Nouns for people
  9. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

Are Spanish nouns ending in -a always feminine?
Nearly always. The exceptions worth knowing are the Greek nouns in -ma, which are masculine ( , , , ), and a few single words led by and . People nouns in -ista go by the person: , . Almost everything else a beginner meets in -a, such as or , is feminine.
How reliable is the -o masculine / -a feminine rule?
Reliable enough to bet on: well over nine nouns in ten follow it, and more still among the common words you learn first. The -o exceptions are and the shortened words and , which keep the gender of and . The -a exceptions are , and the Greek -ma group.
Which endings are reliably feminine in Spanish?
Nouns in -ción and -sión ( , ), -dad and -tad ( , ), -tud ( ) and -umbre ( ). English -tion and -ty words often map onto these (nation, ; university, ), so thousands of nouns arrive with their gender attached.
Why does noun gender matter in Spanish?
Because it spreads. The noun's gender picks the article ( or , or ), the ending of every adjective ( , ) and the pronoun that replaces it ( for , for ). Get the gender right and the whole phrase agrees with it.
What about nouns for people - does grammar or biology decide?
For most people nouns, the person. Many come in pairs ( , ; , ). Nouns in -ista and most in -ante or -ente keep one form and switch the article ( , ), though a few have a feminine in -a ( , presidenta). A few are fixed whoever they describe: is always feminine, even for a man.