Masculino y femenino – Masculine and feminine in Spanish

Spanish is a gendered language, meaning that most nouns are either masculine or feminine. This gender assignment influences the articles, adjectives, and pronouns that accompany the noun. While some general rules apply, such as nouns ending in -o being masculine and nouns ending in -a being feminine, many nouns defy these rules and must be memorised. Understanding the gender of nouns is essential for correct and natural Spanish communication.

In this lesson, we are going to learn how to make that distinction and how to use it properly. Practice your understanding of the rules with the interactive activities below.

Actividad 1 – ¿Masculino o femenino?

Drag each word to the correct place. Remember the easy rule.

Actividad 2 – This is one gets tricky…

Drag each word to the correct place.

Actividad 3 – False friends

Drag each word to the correct place. Be careful, there are some “false friends” in there.

Actividad 4 – Find all the words that are “masculine”

Click on top of all the images that are masculine in Spanish.

Actividad 5 – Change the words

In Spanish, nouns that refer to people and some animals often have both a masculine and a feminine form to specify the gender. The rule is generally very simple: -o for masculine and -a for feminine

Actividad 6 – Special nouns

The following special nouns use a different word to distinguish between masculine and feminine – this also happens in English (e.g. queen and king).

Actividad 7 – Choose the correct article

Click on the correct article for each of the shown words.

Culture

Are you interested in learning more about gendered languages and how to be more inclusive when speaking/writing Spanish? Check the post below!