Gender of Nouns and Articles

All nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine. Articles also are either masculine or feminine, depending on the gender of the noun. Because articles and nouns are so interdependent, it is a good idea to learn nouns and articles together.

Definite

Masculine

Feminine

English

Singular

el

la

the

Plural

los

las

the

Examples

el escritorio
los escritorios

la pizarra
las pizarras

--

Indefinite

Masculine

Feminine

English

Singular

un

una

a

Plural

unos

unas

some

Examples

un libro
unos libros

una silla
unas sillas

--

Attention: nouns are usually masculine if they fall into one of these three categories.

  • Noun ends in -o
       el libro, el escritorio


  • Noun denotes a male
       el cliente vs. la cliente

  • Noun ends in -l or -r
       el papel, el borrador

  • Attention: nouns are usually feminine if they fall into one of these three categories.

  • Noun ends in -a
       la silla, la pizarra


  • Noun denotes a female
       la cliente vs. el cliente

  • Noun ends in -ad, -ción/sión
       la lección, la unidad

  • Attention: to form the plural of the noun for both genders, follow these guidelines.

  • Add -s if word ends in vowel.    el libro = los libros

  • Add -es if word ends in consonant.
       el papel = los papeles