Noun gender exceptions

Masculine nouns ending in -a

Normally, Spanish nouns ending in -a are feminine, but a few common words break this rule. Many of these masculine exceptions end in -ma, -pa, or -ta.

The problem is big.
El problema es grande.
The student looks at the map.
El estudiante mira el mapa.
We live on a beautiful planet.
Nosotros vivimos en un planeta bonito.

Another common exception is the word for "day":

The day is beautiful.
El día es bonito.

Feminine nouns ending in -o

Conversely, words ending in -o are usually masculine, but a handful are feminine. For example, foto and moto are feminine because they are short for longer words (fotografía and motocicleta).

The photos are beautiful.
Las fotos son bonitas.
The motorcycle is big.
La moto es grande.

The word for "hand" is also feminine:

The girl has a small hand.
La niña tiene una mano pequeña.