Just as masculine nouns cluster around certain endings, Spanish feminine nouns have their own family of reliable markers. Learning these endings lets you predict the gender of most new nouns confidently. This page collects the most important feminine patterns, with examples and the exceptions worth remembering.
For the masculine counterparts, see Masculine Noun Patterns. For the most famous oddballs that break all these rules, see Gender Exceptions.
Nouns Ending in -a
The strongest and most familiar feminine marker is the ending -a. Most nouns ending in -a are feminine.
La casa tiene una mesa grande en la cocina.
The house has a large table in the kitchen.
La ventana de mi oficina da a una plaza tranquila.
My office window looks out onto a quiet square.
Common examples: la casa, la mesa, la silla, la ventana, la puerta, la cama, la taza, la pluma, la carta, la amiga.
There are important exceptions — words like el día, el mapa, el problema, and el sistema end in -a but are masculine. These are discussed in Gender Exceptions.
Nouns Ending in -ción and -sión
Nouns ending in -ción or -sión are almost always feminine. These often correspond to English words ending in -tion and -sion, which makes them easy to recognize.
La decisión del presidente causó una gran conmoción.
The president's decision caused a great commotion.
La canción de esa película ganó una mención especial.
The song from that movie won a special mention.
Common examples: la canción, la nación, la estación, la acción, la conversación, la emoción, la educación, la televisión, la decisión, la división, la mansión.
These nouns always carry a written accent on the -ó- in the singular, which drops in the plural: la canción → las canciones. See Forming Plurals for the accent rule.
Nouns Ending in -dad and -tad
The endings -dad and -tad mark abstract nouns derived from adjectives, and they are reliably feminine. They correspond loosely to the English -ty ending.
La libertad y la verdad son valores muy importantes.
Freedom and truth are very important values.
Common examples: la ciudad (city), la libertad (freedom), la verdad (truth), la amistad (friendship), la universidad (university), la bondad (kindness), la facultad (faculty), la dignidad (dignity), la oportunidad (opportunity).
There are essentially no exceptions to this pattern. If it ends in -dad or -tad, treat it as feminine.
Nouns Ending in -tud
The ending -tud is another feminine marker, usually found on abstract nouns.
La juventud tiene una actitud diferente hacia la virtud.
Young people have a different attitude toward virtue.
Common examples: la juventud (youth), la virtud (virtue), la actitud (attitude), la gratitud (gratitude), la multitud (crowd), la esclavitud (slavery), la inquietud (restlessness).
Nouns Ending in -umbre
The ending -umbre is less common but completely reliable: every -umbre noun is feminine.
La costumbre de almorzar a las dos es muy española.
The custom of having lunch at two is very Spanish.
Common examples: la costumbre (custom), la cumbre (summit), la muchedumbre (crowd), la certidumbre (certainty), la incertidumbre (uncertainty), la pesadumbre (sorrow).
Nouns Ending in -ez and -eza
The endings -ez and -eza form abstract nouns from adjectives, and they are feminine. See Abstract Noun Suffixes for more on how these are built.
La belleza del paisaje contrasta con la pobreza de la región.
The beauty of the landscape contrasts with the poverty of the region.
Common examples with -eza: la belleza (beauty), la pobreza (poverty), la pereza (laziness), la tristeza (sadness), la firmeza (firmness), la naturaleza (nature).
Common examples with -ez: la niñez (childhood), la vejez (old age), la madurez (maturity), la timidez (shyness), la validez (validity), la sencillez (simplicity).
Fixed Feminine Categories
Some categories of nouns are feminine regardless of their ending.
Letters of the Alphabet
Every letter of the Spanish alphabet is feminine: la a, la be, la ce, la hache, la eñe.
La a es la primera letra y la zeta es la última.
'A' is the first letter and 'z' is the last.
Arts, Sciences, and Academic Disciplines
Most fields of study and the arts are feminine: la física, la química, la música, la pintura, la historia, la filosofía, la medicina, la literatura, la geografía, la biología.
La física y la química son mis materias favoritas.
Physics and chemistry are my favorite subjects.
A few disciplines ending in -e or a consonant can be masculine (e.g., el arte in certain phrases, though las artes in the plural).
Islands
Island names are generally feminine, even when the island itself ends in a consonant: las Canarias, las Filipinas, las Malvinas, la Española.
Summary Table
| Pattern / Category | Examples | Notable Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| -a ending | casa, mesa, silla, ventana | el día, el mapa, el problema, el sistema |
| -ción, -sión | canción, nación, decisión, televisión | none common |
| -dad, -tad | ciudad, libertad, amistad, verdad | none |
| -tud | juventud, virtud, actitud, multitud | none |
| -umbre | costumbre, cumbre, muchedumbre | none |
| -ez | niñez, vejez, madurez | el ajedrez (chess) |
| -eza | belleza, pobreza, pereza, tristeza | none |
| Letters of the alphabet | la a, la be, la eñe | none |
| Sciences and arts | física, química, música, historia | el arte (sometimes) |
| Islands | las Canarias, las Filipinas | none |
Feminine Words Starting With Stressed -a
One small wrinkle is worth knowing: feminine singular nouns that start with a stressed a- or ha- take the masculine article el in the singular to avoid an awkward sound clash. The noun is still feminine.
El agua está fría, pero las aguas del río son calientes.
The water is cold, but the river waters are warm.
Common examples: el agua (but las aguas), el águila (eagle), el hambre (hunger), el alma (soul), el arma (weapon), el hacha (axe). Adjectives still agree in the feminine: el agua fría, el alma pura.
What Comes Next
With the masculine and feminine patterns in hand, you can guess the gender of most new nouns correctly. The remaining tricky cases get their own pages:
- Gender Exceptions — the high-frequency words that break these rules
- Ambiguous and Dual-Gender Nouns — words that change meaning with gender
- Abstract Noun Suffixes — how these feminine suffixes form new words
Related Topics
- Grammatical GenderA1 — Every Spanish noun has a gender — masculine or feminine — which affects articles, adjectives, and pronouns
- Masculine Noun PatternsA1 — Endings and categories of nouns that are typically masculine
- Abstract Noun SuffixesB1 — Common suffixes that form abstract nouns from adjectives and verbs