Gender in Spanish
Unlike English, where everything is gender neutral, in Spanish many words are masculine or feminine.
(Below is copied from https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-gender-rules/)
Rule #1
When speaking about living creatures, nouns that end in "o" are masculine.
Examples:
el gato → the male cat el perro → the male dog
los gatos → the male cats los perros → the male dogs
el chico → the boy el oso → the male bear
los chicos → the boys los osos → the male bears
el abuelo → the grandfather el tío → the uncle
los abuelos → the grandparents los tíos → the uncles
Rule #2
When speaking about living creatures, nouns that end in "a" are feminine.
Examples:
La gata → the female cat la perra → the female dog
Las gatas → the female cats las perras → the female dogs
(Perra is also bitch in Spanish sooooooo be careful y'all lmao)
La chica → the girl la osa → the female bear
Las chicas → the girls las osas → the female bears
*Beware of the gender trap!*
There is a slight possibility that you might fall into a "gender thinking trap." This deception tricks you into thinking that everything associated with a male will automatically be masculine and everything associated with a female will automatically be feminine. This is false. Only distinct living creatures fall under this categorization.
The following examples clearly illustrate how objects commonly associated with each gender do not follow the rule.
la corbata → the necktie
el maquillaje → the makeup
To keep you from falling into this trap, a very important step you can take is to experience and interact with these nouns in real-world situations.
The Masculine in Spanish
When there is a crowd or a group of people, animals, ideas or things that have a mixed gender, what gender is used?
If you answered, "the masculine gender is always used when there is a mixed group," you are already thinking in the same direction as the Spanish language.
Rule #3
When there is a group of mixed gender, no matter what the ratio is of females to males and males to females, the group is always referred to as masculine.
1 niño + 4 niñas = 5 niños 1 boy + 4 girls = 5 kids
3 gatos + 542 gatas = 545 gatos 3 male cats + 542 female cats = 545 cats
The masculine gender has more power than the female gender when it comes to making the rules. Although the words have the same value, the male acts as the default leader. To make the word feminine you simply add the feminine "a" touch.
Rule #4
Masculine nouns that end in consonants (non-vowels) have a corresponding feminine form that ends in "a"
Examples:
el profesor → the male professor la profesora → the female professor
el doctor → the male doctor la doctora → the female doctor
el señor → the Mr. la señora → the Mrs.
Nouns, Gender and Professions
Some nouns that refer to professions do not change their forms. This does not mean that the importance of gender disappears. If the word does not change, the article is in full charge of specifying gender.
Rule#5
Some nouns that refer to professions have the same form for masculine and feminine. The article is the only thing that changes.
Examples:
el piloto → the male pilot la piloto → the female pilot
el soldado → the male soldier la soldado → the female soldier
el modelo → the male model la modelo → the female model
el poeta → the male poet la poeta → the female poet
el atleta → the male athlete la atleta → the female athlete
el psiquiatra → the male psychiatrist la psquiatra → the female psychiatrist
Optional brain exercise* Make a list of nouns that currently surround you (wherever you are) in English (you decide on how many you want to attempt). Try to guess their gender in Spanish. Look up the words and see how many you got right and what rules you recognize.
Exclusive Endings
Some words are exclusively reserved for female articles and others are exclusively reserved for male ones. These will admit no opposite intervention, ever! The use of masculine articles with exclusively feminine endings and vice-versa will disrupt and distort your communication.
Rule #6
Nouns that end in –sión, –ción, –dad, –tud and –umbre will always require the feminine article.
Examples:
la exposición → the exhibition
la habitación → the room
la felicidad → the happiness
la solicitud → the application
la costumbre → the custom
Rule #7
Nouns that end in –ma require a masculine article
Examples:
el problema → the problem
el emblema → the emblem
el enigma → the mystery
Exceptions That Create New Rules
Languages exist within a strict framework of rules, yet they are alive, they are dynamic, and the are continuously evolving. Therefore, there are always exceptions to the rules, and these exceptions, in turn, create new rules.
Rule #8
Some nouns that end in "a" are masculine
Some nouns that end in "o" are feminine
Examples:
A
el día → the day
el mapa → the map
el cura → the priest
el planeta → the planet
O
la foto → the photo
la mano → the hand
la radio → the radio
la moto → the motorcycle
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