Gender Exceptions

Género gramatical: excepciones

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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. Here are the exceptions to this rule.

Feminine nouns that end in -o

la dinamo		dynamo
la disco*		disco
la foto*		photo
la Gestapo		Gestapo
la libido		libido
la magneto		magneto
la mano		hand
la moto*		motorcycle
la polio		polio
la porno*		pornography
la radio*		radio

 * These words are shortened from words that do end in A: discoteca, fotografía, motocicleta, pornografía, and radiodifusión.

Masculine nouns that end in -a

el aroma		aroma, scent
el Canadá		Canada
el clima		climate
el cometa		comet
el cura		priest
el diagrama		diagram, outline
el dilema		dilemma
el diploma		diploma
el drama		drama
el día		day
el enigma		enigma
el esquema		outlne
el fantasma		ghost
el idioma		language
el mapa		map
el morfema		morpheme
el panorama		panorama
el planeta		planet
el poema		poem
el problema		problem
el programa		program
el síntoma		symptom
el sistema		system
el sofá		sofa
el tanga		thong, G-string
el telegrama		telegram
el teorema		theorem
el tema		theme
el tranvía		streetcar
el trauma		trauma

Also see my lesson on the stressed A, which causes feminine nouns to take the masculine article.

 Gender Quizzes

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the gender of Spanish nouns:

• Dolor de muelas
• ¡Felix Janucá!

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless Spanish account to take these tests. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!

 Related lessons

• Spanish nouns
• Vowels

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