Soy Daniela Sanchez, Ive taught Spanish in Mexico to a wide array of foreigners. "Water" in Spanish is not masculine. Nuestros perros son pequeos. Words ending simply in -inare often masculine, as in: el camin, el avin, etc., so bear that in mind! Have you tried it yet? Required fields are marked *. Miami Beach, FL 33139, All Rights Reserved, 2017-2023. This restaurant is pretty famous. The picture identification task consisted of a booklet (which subjects read), containing a story about two characters preparing to go on, For example, the domain order for choosing the destination of a. You can use the word that best fits a noun to determine if it's masculine or feminine. The Spanish letters "a" and "o" as the final letter of a word designate a feminine or masculine word; "a" is feminine and "o" is masculine. But since doctor refers to a person and an occupation, its the gender of the doctor that will determine the article and ending. Now lets check out the tricks for masculine nouns in Spanish. Below youll find a list of words and be able to find out for yourself if it is masculine (el) or feminine (la). The idea here is that words that end in any of the letters L-O-N-E-R-S tend to be masculine. We know, we know, the exceptions are very frustrating. Just because two words look alike doesnt mean they have the same definition. Something like ZAD? I hope you find what youre looking for here during your journey into Espaol . Equal Opportunity Employment Program The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre hires on the basis of merit and is strongly committed to equity, diversity and inclusion within its community. 4 Answers. That said, we need to get something out of the way before diving into the rules for gender in Spanish. (general) a. pasar las vacaciones (United States) 3. La torre - the tower. I hope this helps. The electric scooter is very practical. The adjective for Italia is italiano. Then its time to test yourself with a quick quiz we put together. Browse Spanish translations from Spain, Mexico, or any other Spanish-speaking country. * These words are shortened from words that do end in A: discoteca, fotografa, motocicleta, pornografa, and radiodifusin. -Fue un lunes, -Ha sido un septiembre hmedo -Nac en el 84 -Son las cinco y cuarto -Poner los puntos sobre las es -La hache delante de la 'a' es muda Professions also refer to people, but are kind of their own subset. Subscribe to the Lawless Spanish newsletter, New lessons and features in your inbox every Thursday. La comida estuvo muy rica. Sofa es muy inteligente. Its Even though Spanish is a language of exceptions, there are a few guidelines that can help when wanting to determine if a noun is feminine or masculine. One of the first things that Spanish students learn is that most Spanish nouns that end in -o are masculine and most that end in -a are feminine. Spanish gender can be a challenging topic for many new and advanced learners. Nuestro coche est sucio. Not bad, huh? This means that every word for a person, place, thing or idea is either masculine or feminine. It's important to remember that the gender of a noun refers only to the grammar of the word, not to the person that it refers to. endings to determine the gender of a word in Spanish. This couch is very comfortable. From students and tourists to doctors and soldiers whove moved and visited here over the years. las vacaciones de Navidad, las vacaciones de Pascua, las vacaciones de verano. Nouns that refer to people and animals have two forms. In Spanish, the masculine form of these animals almost always takes precedence. Adjectives describing, agua are feminine. Here is a quick overview of the topics well cover: By the end of this article, youll have a more solid understanding of how Spanish gender works. Unfortunately, there are not as many rules to know whether a noun in Spanish is masculine. My mom has a cherry tree. But that is also the beauty of a language, and the fact that it is alive and evolving is one of the elements that I find personally interesting. The light is quite bright. La botella de Suzy est vaca. Is vacation feminine or masculine in Spanish? The word for 'the' or 'a' changes depending on the gender of the noun and whether it is singular or plural. Access millions of accurate translations written by our team of experienced English-Spanish translators. For living things (such as people and animals), the grammatical gender is associated with the biological gender: El perro de Luis es blanco. 1000 5th St, suite 200 In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. El maquillaje de Claudia es muy bueno. During the day Im a freelancer and marketer, while at night Im here writing for students of the world wide web looking to learn Spanish. El frica El Agua- Las Agua (plural) the waters When you are starting out in Spanish knowing the gender of nouns is very difficult. Necesito un respiro de mi familia despus de la reunin. . These key rules will make it easier for you! Copyright Curiosity Media, Inc., a division of IXL Learning All Rights Reserved. These nouns are: Mi caballo es negro y mi yegua parda. There are some nouns that end in a, but they are not feminine, but masculine: And vice versa, some nouns that end in -o are feminine: When a masculine noun ends in a consonant, its feminine form ends in a (We just have to had an a after that last consonant). Todava me quedan das de vacaciones antes de que termine el ao. Esa cantante es muy talentosa. Uncle and aunt, for example, are el to andla ta. There is one other ending that ends in -a, -ista, that is actually both feminine and masculine. Therefore, "red" is "rojo" but it becomes "roja" with a. The grammatical gender is an arbitrary classification that divides nouns into two types: masculines or feminines. Animals With A Regular Masculine And Feminine Form. When we have 2 or more nouns with different genre (one is masculine and the other one is feminine), and there is 1 adjective used to describe both of them, the genre of this adjective will be masculine. Learn and practice Spanish * Daily practice * Find your level (proficiency test) * Spanish for beginners * Travel Spanish, A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 Find your level. The same goes for nouns ending with -or: el amor, el dolor, el error, el sabor, etc. The adjective for Brasil is brasileo. Normalmente, voy de vacaciones en diciembre. Forms of feminine and masculine nouns. Do you have any QUESTION or comment about Spanish language? Words ending in -o are generally masculine, while ones ending in -a are generally feminine . For example, the application developer may write a rule stating that each. Therefore, you simply need to memorize the gender of words that end with z. The word espaol was supposedly imported from Provence by a medieval chronicler (it was originally introduced by pilgrims in Santiago) because there was no existing translation of the earlier Roman word Hispani when writing a chronicle of Spanish history, but this was the word Provenal speakers used to refer to the Christian kingdoms of what The waitress doesnt work on Thursday. My students are already speaking Spanish and using it in their everyday lives. Join the Tell Me In Spanish community and get a copy of my step-by-step Spanish Learners Roadmaps and tricky synonyms & vocab cheat sheets. That being said, there are, of course, exceptions to this rule. El nino y el gato. For objects and concepts, Spanish gender is, The Spanish masculine gender can be used to talk about a, Most feminine words in Spanish end with , Singular feminine words that start with a, Certain nouns related to professions have fixed endings. It is basically just a sign of respect. The same thing in the other direction the rules say it should be el, but the word is actually la. The standard rules are here on the top of the page, but you shouldn't trust them fully. Your voice is so high-pitched. Here's what's included: Get conjugations, examples, and pronunciations for millions of words and phrases in Spanish and English. 4. Retrieved from https://lingualinkup.com/el-la-spanish/. Esos cantantes son espaoles. In fact, a few masculine words also end with this vowel. The idea that nouns have gender seems perfectly natural when the noun stands for a living creature. Nouns in Spanish can be either feminine or masculine, and this distinction can often seem illogical to people who don't speak Spanish. Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions, how to tell if a word is masculine or feminine in spanish, what is the difference between masculine and feminine in spanish, 35 Vegetables Translated to Spanish | The Ultimate Master List, Demonstrative Adjectives: This, That, These, and Those Get Them Right. Therefore, vestido (dress) is actually a masculine noun. For example, la mano (hand) & el da (day). In . We use the masculine definite article (el) in singular with feminine nouns that start with an A when the stress is put on the first syllable. El ni o - the male child / la ni a - the female child. (f) means that a noun is feminine. As you can see, most of them are nouns used to describe a persons profession or occupation: And here are some examples of what you can do to mark the gender of these words: [Masculine or feminine determiner] + [noun]+ (adjective). The Ultimate Tip-Sheet to Articles in Spanish: El vs La, Un vs Una [2022], Puzzle Solved: Why nouns in Spanish are feminine and masculine [2022]. LONERS - words that end with any of the letters in LONERS are usually masculine. They wish that they were in love now. Do you see those words ending with -ma? When talking about people, animals and occupations things get a bit blurry. Pink is my favorite color. We only say "el agua" only because it's smoother to pronounce than "la aqua." Period. Exceptions: el mapa, el da, el planeta, el sof, el problema, el tema, el sistema, el idioma, el drama, etc. I need a vacation from my family after the reunion. Su mano es muy pequeo.His hand is very small. A lot of them are identical or almost identical to words you already know in English! To keep the sentence consistent, adjectives, articles, and pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. And with -(a)tra, especially in the medical field: el/la foniatra, el/la pediatra, el/la obstetra. Languages are masculine: el espaol, el ingls, el portugus, el mandarn, el ruso, etc. With these rules below, you'll know which to use with every word "el" or "la". The gender of the word does not change even when the person it refers to is masculine. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Take Note: Do not get mixed up! Distinguishing between gender is fairly straightforward - words ending in an 'a' are usually feminine, where those ending in 'e' are masculine. (Translation of vacation from the Cambridge English-Spanish Dictionary Cambridge University Press), (Translation of vacation from the GLOBAL English-Spanish Dictionary 2020 K Dictionaries Ltd), Watch your back! That tree is very old. Los peces son muy bonitos. The following words are feminine when plural, but when they are singular, these words are masculine: Another exception is that the el or la can change the context of the word: Online Spanish Tutors - Native Speakers. Sus zapatos son muy caros. The name is thought to have acquired this meaning as communities in the time of Sarah and Abraham thought it to be hysterical that they were to have a child at such an elderly age. Voy a viajar a Mxico durante las vacaciones de verano. Get a Step-by-Step Map to Learning Spanish. When referring to people or animals, most of the time Spanish nouns can be transformed into feminine words by simply replacing the -o with an -a. Sometimes, all we need is a quick and simple explanation to remove the obstacles, bringing the goal of being fluent in Spanish within grasping distance. Although words that end in -a are usually feminine, we already know that the words with -ma at the end of them are masculine. Benoit Hamon, CEO de SINGA, est venu sur Komune pour donner des faits face aux ides Most nouns that end in "a" are feminine nouns. Here it might help to connect it with a feminine word that is opposite, so you can remember the words in pairs. Test yourself on the gender of Spanish nouns: Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless Spanish account to take these tests. But it is something that even advanced students mix up once in a while. Cuntas clases faltan para las vacaciones? Your email address will not be published. Follow this link if you want to know WHY nouns have a gender in Spanish. Can vacaciones be singular? How to know if a word is masculine or feminine in Spanish? In his spare time, he enjoys reading and getting angry about things on. https://lingualinkup.com/el-la-spanish/ (accessed var d = (new Date()).toString().split(' ').splice(1,3).join(' '); ). The balcony is very big. Colors are ADJECTIVES. La juez es muy puntual. To put it in simple terms, if youre working with a Spanish masculine noun, you must make sure its modifiers are also masculine. It's a good place to start for beginners though! Comment *document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "afd5b14b53088abe26398d903d076933" );document.getElementById("a465f5e1c1").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Create an account to start this course today. "Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions." For example: Subscribe for free weekly updates from this Spanish Language site. The grammatical gender is an arbitrary classification that divides nouns into two types: masculines or feminines. Mi primo tambin es inteligente. [Determiner] + [noun] + [verb conjugated] + [adjective]. Como La Flor, by Selena. An exception is nene (colloquial term for little kid): el nene -> la nena. For instance, a cat can be el gato (masculine) or la . La serpiente - the serpent. Este semestre est bien pesado.I desperately need a vacation! And to make things more interesting, the fact is that with time, languages evolve and change. So, you would have to establish if that friend is a male or a female to determine which article to use. Fortunately, even the exceptions have rules. El DIA = THE DAY For example, we usually say la moto for motorcycle, which ends in an -o. trabajador m (plural trabajadores, feminine trabajadora, feminine plural trabajadoras) worker Synonyms: currante, obrero, trabajante; Derived terms Here we will explain the rules, and then the 3 categories of exceptions: Below are a number of words you would think should be la according to the rules above, but they are el, as they are exceptions to the el/la rules. Generally, if the masculine form ends with an -o, to form the feminine you just need to replace it with an -a: If the masculine form ends witn a consonant, to form the feminine we just add an -a: They usually have the same form for masculine and feminine: el/la estudiante, el/la cantante, el/la agente, el/la paciente, etc. In the tables below, youll find the most common endings for feminine words in Spanish. Unlike the masculine, theres no fun acronym for feminine nouns. Animals With Irregular Masculine And Feminine Forms. Sofia is very smart. Collins Complete Spanish Electronic Dictionary HarperCollins Publishers 2011. On the other hand, when working as nouns, Spanish colors are always masculine. And to improve your Spanish even further, book a lesson with me! Search millions of Spanish-English example sentences from our dictionary, TV shows, and the internet. My kitty is sick. Or el agua in singular, while las aguas in plural. Spanish speakers always like to have vacations in plural. Within the Fluenz team, amongst us who Spanish is our first language we still have numerous discussions onwhether certain words are masculine or feminine. La parte - the part. To know if a noun is masculine or feminine, you should look to see what letter(s) the word ends with. Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English. SpanishDict is the world's most popular Spanish-English dictionary, translation, and learning website. The dressing room is occupied. Usted is used to speak in a more professional manner. More examples: rea (el rea/las reas), aula (el aula/las aulas), guila (el guila/las guilas), etc. This attribute allows us to classify words as either masculine or feminine. Be aware that these guidelines are not set in stone, and there are some exceptions that youll need to memorize. -Tud, like in the word actitud (attitude) is also a common ending for feminine nouns. Estas manzanas estn muy agrias. . You could possibly sayel tortugo to refer to a male turtle, but it might get you a weird look or two. document.write(d); The words doctorA, arquitectA, are relatively new, this is why we cant craft a perfect rule. Janet Long has taught post-secondary Spanish and English for over 15 years. All rights reserved. But dont worry, were going to give you a framework to work with. Here are the exceptions to this rule. We would say El mdicO, La mdicO. Although its not really incorrect to use the feminine form, its less common. Most words that. Many nouns that refer to jobs or roles of people can be either masculine or feminine depending on the person they refer to. Common exceptions: not feminine, masculine El mapa- the map- masculine El da- the day- masculine. Nouns ending with -aje are usually masculine: el masaje, el garaje, el paisaje, el pasaje, el peaje, etc. But really, the LONERS rule will work for you almost every time. Tom la decisin equivocada. Please check your email and click the link to confirm your subscription - gracias! This rule is only applicable to the following numbers: Tengo doscientos pesos. La familia se fue de vacaciones a Mjico. -A, -in, -dad, -tad and -tud are all endings for feminine words. Las aguas azucaradas son malas para la salud. Thats why agua, a feminine noun, in singular is el agua. But fortunately, Spanish grammatical gender does have some rules you can follow to figure out when you needel and when you needla. thelanguagetutors Follow Advertisement Recommended Spanish Lesson - Lesson 3: Definite and Indefinite articles Swagatam Mitra 3.5k views 9 slides I desperately need a vacation! Most words that end in the letter -o are masculine. Dictionaries always indicate the grammatical gender of a noun! Descubr lo que tu empresa podra llegar a alcanzar. For these types of cases, there are certain guidelines that can give you a better idea of how Spanish gender is formed. Quiero un rojo ms intenso. Given that this may be a new concept for new learners, many people wonder what grammatical gender in Spanish is. Another example of this is la radio, which is a shorter form of the word radiodifusin. With these rules below, you'll know which to use with every word "el" or "la". The only exception to the weekly sampling rate occurred between sessions 11 and 12 when the family took a two-week. Helpful, right? Just like photo is an abbreviation of photograph,fotois the short way of saying fotografa. If you were referring to a male friend, which article would you use EL or LA? 2. NEWMAGICFOR THE NEWAGE Daring to challenge old stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding magical practice, New Millenni. el clima (the weather) The journalist works all day. Nouns that end in -ma are masculine, such as the word problema (problem), Nouns that end in -pa, like the word mapa (map), are also masculine. La maestra tiene dos gatitas.The teacher has two kitties. All of these expressions, as well as a number of others, have one thing in common. 501 lessons. The truth can be painful. We know that all people have gender, but in Spanish all nouns have gender. The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures. As a result, depending on the noun, a number can be either feminine or masculine. My cousin is also smart. You will get new updates by email, as well as a copy of my ebook, the Definitive Guide to Learn Conjugations in Spanish. Everything weve ever written about Spanish, all in one place. And because it is an occupation, we said that those . When using demonstrative pronouns (esta, esa, aquella) with these words, they stay feminine. Remember that nouns that end with z do not follow a default gender guideline. La cancin es muy larga. Several Spanish nouns have a masculine and a feminine form, for example, hijo - son and hija - daughter.Another example is mdico - male doctor and mdica - female doctor.. FR8 En Ville - Location Sort - Masculine/Feminine Group sort. Next year I am going to vacation in Europe. Sometimes the word just breaks the rules, and we have to memorize that they are different, such as la mano (hand). El mecnico trabaja todos los das. Be one of them! Otherwise, it would sound like laaagua. All rights reserved. I can help you with that! Learn more in the Cambridge English-French Dictionary. Shopping! Nouns with other endings, such as other consonants, usually need to be memorized. places and ideas. Masculine nouns are used with articles like el or un and have adjectives that end in -o, while female nouns use the articles la or una and have adjectives that end in -a. La noche - the night. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. Access millions of accurate translations written by our team of experienced English-Spanish translators. If the occupation ends in -a it tends not to change. Lucia has very nice qualities. Hay cien sillas disponibles. Theres a cold front in the city. There are one hundred chairs available. The song is too long. All nouns in Spanish have a gender, and are either feminine or masculine. The same goes for some words that end in -o that are actually feminine: la mano, la radio, la foto, etc. The man sneezed.). La mano (hand) is feminine, but el pie (foot) is masculine. Whether its a good idea to split the world into two genders is a subject for a different article, but for now well go through the various kinds of nouns that switch genders. My cousins design is not finished. Luis dog is white. La sangre - the blood. On your particular example of a dropdown menu with the names of languages, you don't have to worry because there is only one name for (the language) Spanish: espaol, masculine. Lesson outline 1. Grammatical gender is a property of Spanish nouns. 2023 Lawless Spanish. As explained before, a big portion of masculine words in Spanish end with an -o. For those who are serious about their Spanish, there is nothing like the entire Fluenz journey including our digital App, the face-to-face Online Immersion, and the six-day experiences in Mexico City, Barcelona, or Oaxaca. Be careful since you may fall into a trap of gender thinking. However, there are a few masculine nouns that end in -a. Venir is an irregular verb in Spanish. We do this in order to avoid a cacophony, a mixture of unpleasant sounds to our ears. La disco is short for la discoteca, andla foto is short forla fotografa. Los delfines son adorables. vacacin ( bah - kah - syohn ) feminine noun 1. Spanish also has four forms of the indefinite article that correspond to the words a/an and some/any in English. We said words that end in -or are masculine. Just think of the Spanish word for problem: el problema! Your lipstick is so pretty! But, more exceptions! Many people learning Spanish assume that these are neutral nouns. Because gender is such an integral part of learning Spanish your best bet as an English speaker is to acquire each new word with its respective article. Men wish that they had been warriors, or are proud that they once were. These apples are very sour. Take the Spanish words for "colour" and "tooth": el color, el diente. 1) For example, the days (el da), months (el mes), and years (el ao) are masculine; while letters of the alphabet (la letra) and the hours (la hora) of the day are feminine. We say EL agua frA (The cold water). You will find them in the list below. The journalist is very persistent. While most nouns that end with a particular consonant or vowel are generally classified as either masculine or feminine, nouns that end with z do not follow a guideline. Hay un frente fro en la ciudad. Feminine nouns have different letters at the end of them than masculine ones. trabajador (feminine trabajadora, masculine plural trabajadores, feminine plural trabajadoras) hard-working Synonyms: currante, trabajante; Noun . In this lesson, we'll look at the differences between masculine and feminine nouns and learn some tips to remember them. So with people you may not know well, perhaps someone older, or people of authority/higher status than oneself such as a college professor. Los dentistas estn muy jvenes. vacation translate: vacances [feminine, plural], vacances [feminine, plural], passer ses vacances, vacances, passer des. That singer is very talented. In addition to these anomalies, there are other Spanish gender exceptions that you must keep in mind. From students and tourists to doctors and soldiers whove moved and visited here over the years. 08, 2020, https://lingualinkup.com/el-la-spanish/, Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions. With these rules below, youll know which to use with every word el or la. A noun is a word used to denominate a person, thing, place or concept. When using adjectives to describe a person, use the gender that the person identifies with. But, sometimes a word is a shorter forms of a longer word, like moto or radio. As you might have guessed, all of the tricks were going to cover use word We said all words ending in -a are feminine. First of all, what is a noun? by Kcastonguay. L'immigration est + masculine que fminine : INFO ou INFOX ? Possible excuses include hospitalization. Many people mistakenly think the gender of a noun in Spanish is determined by who uses that object. However, this doesnt mean that all words that end with an -a are feminine. In plain English, this book explains the Masculine & Feminine elements of Spanish, plus the rules around Singular & Plural. Discover word endings used for feminine and masculine nouns in Spanish, explore exceptions,. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. As you learned before, many Spanish masculine words end with -n. man, dog, house). I have an extra pen. One of the first things that Spanish students learn is that most Spanish nouns that end in -o are masculine and most that end in -a are feminine. Thinking of them together might help you remember their correct gender. Instead of learning: libro = book, try committing to memory: EL libro = The book. A few of the most common ones are: Any words that are actually a shorter form of a longer word. To do so, youll use Spanish articles, adjectives, or pronouns. Dialogues in Spanish - English on 123dialogues channel: https://www.youtube.com/123dialogues Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youstudyspanishBlog: http://y. Even if the nouns are in singular! by Mgomezhernandez. Now lets see how to know if a word is masculine or feminine in Spanish when talking about people and animals. But that has changed with time, and thus we end up with rules that are blurry which do not help when those starting to learn Spanish. Claudias make-up is very good. For instance, a table (la mesa) is feminine, while a desk (el escritorio) is masculine. So, its important to memorize the feminine words that end with the consonant z. La mesera descansa los jueves. Some examples include: These rules can help you most of the time to determine if the noun is masculine, but they won't always work. This means that most Spanish adjectives will change their gender to match the noun. Ese color es bonito. Spanish speakers always like to have vacations in plural. The articles which accompany a masculine noun are el (definite) / uno (indefinite), while the feminine ones are la (definite) / una (indefinite) .