Nouns — More Notes on Gender

Nouns — More Notes on Gender

The majority of masculine nouns ending in -o change the -o to -a for the feminine form.

el esposo	husband	la esposa	wife
el primo	cousin (male)	la prima	cousin (female)
el hermano	brother	la hermana	sister
el tío	uncle	la tía	aunt
el muchacho	young boy	la muchacha	young girl
el gato	cat (male)	la gata	cat (female)

Some masculine nouns in order to indicate the feminine form do not change their spelling, but simply use the masculine or the feminine article to indicate the gender. A number of these nouns end in -a, -e, -ista, -nte, or end in a consontant.

el líder	leader (male)	la líder	leader (female)
el artista	artist (male)	la artista	artist (female)
el estudiante	student (male)	la estudiante	student (female)
el atleta	athlete (male)	la atleta	athlete (female)
el joven	young man	la joven	young woman

Some nouns vary in meaning according to their gender.

el ayuda	assistant	la ayuda	help
el capital	money	la capital	city
el cura	priest	la cura	cure
el derecho	right, law	la derecha	right (direction)
el fondo	bottom	la fonda	inn
el frente	front	la frente	forehead (body)
el guía	guide	la guía	guidebook
el mañana	tomorrow	la mañana	morning
el modo	way, manner	la moda	fashion
el orden	order (series)	la orden	order, command
el policía	policeman	la policía	police force
el puerto	port	la puerta	door
el punto	period, dot	la punta	point, tip
el resto	rest	la resta	subtraction
el suelo	ground	la suela	sole (shoe)