Mano and Other Words That Break Spanishs Gender Rule

Spanish nouns that end with -o are masculine, and ones that end with -a are feminine, right? Well, almost always. But there are exceptions to the  gender  rule, of which the two best-known are mano, the word for hand, which is feminine; and dà ­a, the word for day, which is masculine. So you can talk about la mano and las manos  and well as el dà ­a and los dà ­as. Key Takeaways Most Spanish nouns ending in -o are masculine, and most ending in -a are feminine, but there are exceptions.Some of the exceptions occur because of how the words were treated in other languages, such as Latin and Greek.Many nouns that refer to jobs or roles of people can be either masculine or feminine depending on the person they refer to. 6 Ways in Which the Rule Is Broken Exceptions fall into six  categories: Words that are shortened versions of other words. For example, la foto (photograph) is feminine because its short for la fotografà ­a.Words that end in -ista as the equivalent of the English -ist. For example, dentista can be either masculine or feminine depending on whether the dentist referred to is a man or woman. A few words with other endings are treated the same way. For example, modelo can be either masculine or feminine when referring to a human model, but masculine in other uses (such as when referring to a model airplane).Words whose meanings vary depending on the gender. For example, in some areas, la radio means radio, while el radio means radius or radium. Sometimes la radio is used to refer to the communications medium and el radio for a radio set.Some masculine words that come from Greek and end in -a (often -ma). Most of these words have English cognates.A few compound nouns, which are traditionally  masculine, even when the noun portion comes from a feminine noun. Words that are just exceptions, such as mano and dà ­a. Usually these exceptions come from the way the words were treated in Latin. Here is a list of the most common exceptions to the masculine o, feminine a rule: el aroma — aromael Canadà ¡ — Canadael clima — climateel cà ³lera — cholera (but la cà ³lera, anger)el cometa — comet (but la cometa, kite)el cura — male priest (but la cura, cure)el dà ­a — dayel diagrama — diagramel dilema — dilemmael diploma — diplomala disco — disco (short for la discoteca)el drama — dramael enigma — enigmael esquema — outline, diagramla foto — photo (short for la fotografà ­a)el guardia — policeman or male guard (but la guardia, vigilance, policewoman or female guard)el guardabrisa — windshieldel guardarropa — clothing closetel guà ­a — male guide (but la guà ­a, guidebook or female guide)el idioma — languageel idiota — male idiot (but la idiota, female idiot)el indà ­gena — indigenous male (but la indà ­gena, indigenous female)la mano — handel maà ±ana — near future (but la maà ±ana, t omorrow or morning)el mapa — mapla modelo — female model (but el modelo, male model)el morfema — morphemela moto — motorcycle (short for la motocicleta)la nao — shipel panorama — panorama, outlookel papa — pope (but la papa, potato)el planeta — planetel plasma — plasmael poema — poemel policà ­a — policeman (but la policà ­a, police force or policewoman)el problema — problemel programa — programel quechua — Quechua languagela radio — radio (short for la radiodifusià ³n; but el radio, radius or radium; usage of the feminine form depends on the region)la reo — female criminal (but el reo, male criminal)el reuma, el reà ºma — rheumatismel sà ­ntoma — symptom, signel sistema — systemel sofà ¡ — sofala soprano — female soprano (but el soprano, male soprano)el tanga — G-stringel telegrama — telegramel tema — theme, su bjectel teorema — theoremel tequila — tequila (short for el licor de Tequila)la testigo — female witness (but el testigo, male witness)el tranvà ­a — streetcar Gender for Names of Occupations and Other Roles Most words that refer to peoples jobs or roles, many ending in -ista or -eta, that can be either masculine or feminine are not listed above. Most have English cognates. Among the abundance of words that fit that category are el/la atleta (athlete), el/la artista (artist), el/la astronauta (astronaut), el/la dentista (dentist), el/la comentarista (commentator), el/la izquierdista (leftist or left-winger), el/la oficinista (office worker), el/la poeta (poet), el/la profeta (prophet), and el/la turista (tourist). Feminine NounsThat Use El Also not included in the list are combinations such as el agua (water) — feminine words that begin with a stressed a- or ha- and are preceded by el in the singular form only. Others are el à ¡guila (eagle), el ama (woman of the house), and el alma (soul). But note that the normal rules are followed in the plural form: las aguas, las à ¡guilas, las amas and las almas. With these words, el doesnt indicate gender but is used instead for ease of pronunciation. It is similar to the way in which Englist substitutes an for a in front of some nouns, as the rule applies to the opening sound of the word, not how its spelled.