Once you accept that every Greek noun has a gender, the practical question is: can you predict it before you look it up? Most of the time, yes. The nominative ending of a noun is a strong signal, and for several endings it is essentially a guarantee. This page turns those signals into a decision aid you can apply to any new word — plus an honest map of exactly where the guessing breaks down, because one ending in particular refuses to behave.
The decision table
Read the ending, get the most likely gender, and note the reliability. The high-reliability rows you can almost trust blindly; the low-reliability row (-ος) you must treat with care.
| Ending | Most likely gender | Reliability | Notable exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ας | masculine | very high | — |
| -ης | masculine | very high | — |
| -ος | masculine (~85%) | low — can be all three | fem: η οδός, η νόσος, η μέθοδος; neut: το δάσος, το λάθος |
| -α | feminine | high | neuter -μα words (see below) |
| -η | feminine | high | a few neuters (το βράδυ is -υ, not -η) |
| -ση / -ξη / -ψη | feminine | near-certain | — |
| -ο | neuter | very high | — |
| -ι | neuter | very high | — |
| -μα | neuter | near-certain | — |
The rest of this page walks through these in order of usefulness, starting with the ones you can rely on.
The near-certain signals: -μα, -ση/-ξη/-ψη
Two ending-patterns are so reliable they are worth treating as rules.
-μα → neuter. Any noun ending in -μα is neuter. This one is important because the -α tail tempts English speakers (and speakers of gendered languages) to file it as feminine — but it is neuter every time: το όνομα, το πρόβλημα, το γράμμα, το κύμα.
Ξέχασα το όνομά σου, συγγνώμη.
kséchasa to ónomá su, sighnómi
I forgot your name, sorry.
Αυτό είναι ένα σοβαρό πρόβλημα.
aftó íne éna sovaró próvlima
This is a serious problem.
-ση / -ξη / -ψη → feminine. This large and productive family — abstract nouns built from verbs — is feminine without exception you will meet as a learner: η λύση (solution), η πράξη (act/action), η σκέψη (thought), η λήψη (reception/taking).
Βρήκαμε τη λύση στο πρόβλημα.
vríkame ti lísi sto próvlima
We found the solution to the problem.
Η πράξη μετράει, όχι τα λόγια.
i práksi metrái, óchi ta lóya
Actions count, not words.
The masculine signals: -ας, -ης (and mostly -ος)
-ας and -ης are dependable masculine markers: ο πατέρας (father), ο άντρας (man), ο μαθητής (student), ο ναύτης (sailor), ο πολίτης (citizen).
Ο πατέρας μου δουλεύει στο λιμάνι.
o patéras mu dhulévi sto limáni
My father works at the harbor.
Ο μαθητής διαβάζει για τις εξετάσεις.
o mathitís dhiavázi ya tis eksetásis
The student is studying for the exams.
-ος is masculine most of the time (ο δρόμος, ο άνθρωπος, ο ουρανός) — roughly 85% — but it is the one ending you cannot fully trust, because -ος nouns come in all three genders (see the next section).
The neuter signals: -ο, -ι (and learned -ος)
-ο and -ι are strongly neuter: το δώρο (gift), το νερό (water), το ψωμί (bread), το παιδί (child), το σπίτι (house).
Το δώρο σου μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ.
to dhóro su mu árese pára polí
I liked your gift very much.
Το ψωμί είναι ακόμα φρέσκο.
to psomí íne akóma frésko
The bread is still fresh.
The problem child: -ος can be all three genders
This is the one ending that breaks the system, so it deserves its own attention. Most -ος nouns are masculine, but two smaller groups are not:
- Feminine -ος nouns — a limited, mostly "learned" set inherited from ancient Greek: η οδός (street/avenue), η νόσος (disease), η μέθοδος (method), η ψήφος (vote), η είσοδος (entrance), η έξοδος (exit). These are worth memorizing as a block; the full list lives on Feminine nouns in -ος.
- Neuter -ος nouns — another learned class, often naming abstractions, which decline as a separate type with a plural in -η (το δάσος → τα δάση): το δάσος (forest), το λάθος (mistake), το μέρος (place/part), το κράτος (state), το τέλος (end). These are covered on Neuter nouns in -ος.
Η οδός Σταδίου είναι κλειστή σήμερα.
i odhós stadhíu íne klistí símera
Stadiou Avenue is closed today.
Το δάσος πήρε φωτιά το καλοκαίρι.
to dhásos píre fotiá to kalokéri
The forest caught fire in the summer.
Loanwords default to neuter
Modern Greek absorbs a lot of foreign vocabulary, and there is a clean pattern for it: borrowed words are almost always neuter, and most are indeclinable (they keep the same form in every case). Το τρένο (train), το ταξί (taxi), το ασανσέρ (elevator), το πάρτι (party), το γκολ (goal), το κομπιούτερ (computer) — all neuter, all with το. This makes new imported vocabulary the easiest gender of all to predict.
Πήραμε το τρένο για τη Θεσσαλονίκη.
pírame to tréno ya ti thesaloníki
We took the train to Thessaloniki.
Το ταξί περιμένει έξω.
to taksí periméni ékso
The taxi is waiting outside.
Semantic overrides: people and animals
One force can outrank the ending: natural sex for words naming people and (often) animals. A word for a male being tends to be masculine and a female being feminine, regardless of the general ending pattern — ο άντρας / η γυναίκα, ο πατέρας / η μητέρα, ο δάσκαλος / η δασκάλα.
But watch the crucial interaction with the neuter endings: when a person-word ends in the neuter -ι (very often a diminutive), the ending wins and the word is neuter even though it names a human — το κορίτσι (girl), το αγόρι (boy), το παιδί (child). Natural gender bends the rule; it does not abolish it.
Το κορίτσι και το αγόρι είναι αδέρφια.
to korítsi ke to aghóri íne adhérfia
The girl and the boy are siblings.
Common Mistakes
1. Filing every -ος as masculine. The feminine and neuter -ος sets are small but common.
❌ ο οδός
Incorrect — οδός is feminine: η οδός.
✅ η οδός
i odhós
the street / avenue
2. Treating -μα as feminine because of the -α. Every -μα noun is neuter.
❌ η πρόβλημα
Incorrect — -μα is neuter: το πρόβλημα.
✅ το πρόβλημα
to próvlima
the problem
3. Making a neuter -ος word masculine. το λάθος, το δάσος, το μέρος are neuter.
❌ ο λάθος
Incorrect — λάθος is neuter: το λάθος.
✅ το λάθος
to láthos
the mistake
4. Missing the reliable -ση/-ξη/-ψη feminine. These abstract nouns are always feminine.
❌ το λύση
Incorrect — -ση is feminine: η λύση.
✅ η λύση
i lísi
the solution
Key Takeaways
- Near-certain: -μα → neuter, and -ση/-ξη/-ψη → feminine.
- Very high: -ας/-ης → masculine; -ο/-ι → neuter.
- -ος is the trap: default masculine (~85%), but a learned set is feminine (η οδός, η νόσος) and another neuter (το δάσος, το λάθος).
- Natural sex overrides for people/animals — except when a neuter ending like -ι claims the word (το κορίτσι, το αγόρι).
Now practice Greek
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Greek→Related Topics
- The Three GendersA1 — Every Greek noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter — and that gender, shown by its article ο / η / το, controls the adjectives and pronouns around it, so you learn each noun together with its article, not on its own.
- Feminine Nouns in -οςB1 — The counterintuitive class that looks masculine but isn't — η οδός, η μέθοδος, η άμμος, η Κύπρος. They take feminine articles and adjectives (η κεντρική οδός) yet decline exactly like masculine -ος nouns (της οδού, την οδό).
- Learned Neuters in -οςB1 — The learned neuter class (το δάσος, το μέρος, το λάθος) whose -ος nominative looks masculine but is neuter — genitive -ους, plural -η. The article το, not the ending, tells you the gender apart from masculine ο δρόμος and feminine η οδός.