Questions tagged [género]

Preguntas sobre el género gramatical y su concordancia en nombre, adjetivo y pronombre. // Questions about grammatical (and natural) gender and agreement in the Spanish noun, adjective, and pronoun.

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Why is "agua" masculine in singular form and feminine in plural? "El agua" / "Las aguas" ¿Por qué decimos "el agua" si es una palabra femenina?

This is a canonical question / Esta es una pregunta canónica English Is there any rule that says that feminine nouns that start with "A" are converted to masculine or is it just done for ...
David Grajal's user avatar
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33 votes
2 answers
10k views

¿Por qué es la palabra «mano» femenina?

En español, tenemos una regla en la cual, generalmente, se puede tener fe: Si una palabra termina con -o, es masculina. Sin embargo, palabras que terminan en -e o -a también pueden ser palabras ...
Aarthi's user avatar
  • 1,066
26 votes
4 answers
7k views

Why is "la Gestapo" feminine?

Why is the word Gestapo feminine? Almost all other (non-abbreviated) loanwords I can think of ending in -o have been absorbed as masculine. Is it because it is associated with policía?
jacobo's user avatar
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23 votes
3 answers
13k views

Why are certain words ending in "a" masculine?

English: I'm referring to words like "el tema" or "el lema". Most words ending in "a" are feminine. This is actually the opposite of a similar question, ¿Por qué es la palabra «mano&#...
Tom Au's user avatar
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23 votes
2 answers
509 views

Is the use of @ instead of 'a' or 'o' in order to refer to both masculine and feminine accepted?

I have seen several times the use of @ instead of 'a' or 'o' for referring to masculine and feminine words at the same time. For example: Hola a tod@s. Is this an accepted use?
J. Calleja's user avatar
  • 1,596
20 votes
3 answers
19k views

Why do Spanish words have gender?

English: What is the origin of gender in Spanish words? (la mesa, el perro) I come from another language (English) that doesn't have gender for nouns, except maybe a few things like ships, planes, ...
gnarlybracket's user avatar
18 votes
4 answers
126k views

¿Se debe decir jefe o jefa al referirse a una persona de sexo femenino?

Mi jefe en el trabajo es una mujer. ¿Cómo es la forma correcta de referirse a un jefe que es mujer? ¿jefe o jefa? Algunos compañeros de trabajo le dicen jefa, yo le digo por su nombre sin embargo ...
Alfredo Osorio's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
2k views

Mismatching word gender in Spanish

My native language is a genderless language, there is no masculine/feminine words, and so there is no being agreeable in grammar. This causes a lot of confusion for me as a Spanish Learner and no ...
roozbeh S's user avatar
  • 327
14 votes
6 answers
34k views

Determining gender of words ending in "e"

When learning Spanish, there are basic rules taught about word gender: words ending in o are usually masculine, words ending in a are usually feminine. What about words ending in e? Are there any ...
jrdioko's user avatar
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13 votes
4 answers
13k views

¿Es "la azúcar" o "el azúcar"?

I'm a bit confused: Is "sugar" "la azúcar" or "el azúcar"? If both are correct: Does it depend on the context? Are there more words where both articles can be used?
Martin Thoma's user avatar
13 votes
7 answers
34k views

¿El o la app? ¿Un o una app?

La recomendación de la Fundéu es no abreviar y usar «aplicación» o, si se quiere abreviar, hacerlo de una forma más ¿española? y abreviarlo como «apli». Sin embargo es «app» lo que se sigue usando en ...
guillem's user avatar
  • 2,407
13 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why are Spanish adverbs formed using the feminine?

To form adverbs in Spanish, you take your chosen adjective, e.g. lent@ - slow, turn it into the feminine form, lenta, then add -mente, lentamente - slowly. Why do you use the feminine form here? In ...
BladorthinTheGrey's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

¿Por qué el color "marrón" no tiene femenino "marrona"? En general, ¿por qué tan pocos colores tienen género femenino diferenciado?

Dentro del precioso proceso de aprendizaje del idioma, mi hija de tres años ya ha cogido bastante soltura. Ello se ve con la facilidad que deduce palabras en función de las reglas que poco a poco va ...
fedorqui's user avatar
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11 votes
3 answers
14k views

¿Es correcto usar "@" para significar femenino/masculino?

He visto bienvenid@s con una @ para significar bienvenidos/bienvenidas. Casi estoy seguro que he visto otras palabras también en cuales meten @ para significar masculino/femenino, pero no puedo ...
gnarlybracket's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
5k views

Is it possible to refer to a wife as "una marida?"

I know that "el marido" means "the husband" and that it can also be translated as "spouse," but I see no strong evidence that one would refer to a spouse of feminine biological gender as "una marida." ...
Lisa Beck's user avatar
  • 5,543
11 votes
5 answers
37k views

What are the differences between "el mar" and "la mar"?

Another question touched on this issue, but I wanted to ask in more detail. Mar is a noun that can be masculine or feminine. I have heard that there are subtle differences in connotations between the ...
jrdioko's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
2k views

Bebé: ¿de qué género es?

Para mí la palabra bebé siempre ha sido gramaticalmente masculino, sea niño o niña. Así, de hecho, lo recoge el DLE (énfasis mío) 1. m. Niño o niña recién nacido o de muy corta edad. No obstante, ...
user0721090601's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
195 views

¿Es posible ocultar mi género en Internet al hablar en español?

He notado que en inglés existen ciertas formas de enmascarar el género de alguien cuando se desconoce o no se quiere indicar. Por ejemplo, en sitios como The Workplace o Interpersonal skills se ...
Diego's user avatar
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11 votes
5 answers
1k views

Dos millones de personas están... ¿expuestas o expuestos? Un millón de personas... ¿tendrá o tendrán?

Me ha surgido la duda que explico a continuación sobre cómo se tiene que hacer la concordancia de género en frases con un predicado nominal en las cuales el sujeto contiene la expresión "millones de ...
Charo's user avatar
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10 votes
4 answers
8k views

Identifying masculine and feminine words

Are there any tips to quickly identify words in Spanish as 'male' or 'female'? I am a new learner and have trouble with this.
slayernoah's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
793 views

Are gendered objects explicitly of that gender?

This question betrays my poor beginner's Spanish, but what the heck... Do native/fluent Spanish speakers regard masculine/feminine nouns as possessing intrinsic "male/female" qualities, if only ...
Lioninacoma's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
22k views

¡Buenas! greeting in morning

Another question brings up the fact that in many countries, ¡Buenas! is used as a greeting (as an abbreviation of Buenas tardes or Buenas noches). In regions where this is the case, what should be ...
jrdioko's user avatar
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10 votes
2 answers
4k views

¿Qué género tienen los extranjerismos?

Me he encontrado con el anglicismo "babymoon" y me ha surgido la duda: ¿Debo decir "el babymoon" o "la babymoon"? Y más en general, ¿cómo se determina el género de los extranjerismos? Por ejemplo: ¿...
fedorqui's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
18k views

Las palabras definidas como género ambiguo como "internet" ¿se deben utilizar con artículo femenino o masculino?

Para el caso de la palabra "internet", tenía un profesor en preparatoria que comentaba que debería ser "la internet" puesto que "internet" es "la red de redes". ...
Alfredo Osorio's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
34k views

¿Cuál es el diminutivo de mano, foto, moto, etc.?

Para las palabras que son femeninas pero terminan en o, ¿cuál es la forma diminutiva? O sea, ¿es el diminutivo de foto fotito o fotita? Y para mano, ¿es manito o manita? En el caso de mano, creo que ...
jrdioko's user avatar
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9 votes
4 answers
1k views

Why do fruits seemingly have two genders?

Why fruits seemingly have two genders? (or maybe being bi-gender would be a better way to put it). I came across this phrase: "...frutas, verduras, cereales y frutos secos" So "la fruta" is ...
B. Clay Shannon-B. Crow Raven's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
32k views

What is the rule for cualquier, cualquiera, and cualesquiera?

I remember learning the rule for when to use cualquier, cualquiera, and cualesquiera, but was always confused about the exact differences. When should each be used, and what role do number, gender, ...
jrdioko's user avatar
  • 17.7k
8 votes
2 answers
231 views

Dado que COVID-19 es la enfermedad, ¿sería más correcto decir "la COVID-19"?

En estos tiempos (marzo-abril 2020) he escuchado a unos periodistas decir el COVID-19 y a otros decir la COVID-19. Tengo entendido que COVID-19 es la enfermedad. Entonces, ¿sería más correcto decir ...
user26207's user avatar
8 votes
6 answers
58k views

¿Cuál sería la versión femenina de "caballero" como sustantivo?

En el diccionario se define caballero como sustantivo de la siguiente forma: caballero Del lat. caballarius 'caballerizo'. m. Hombre que se comporta con distinción, nobleza y ...
Charlie's user avatar
  • 77.5k
8 votes
4 answers
1k views

"Empanada", "Emparedado", and their genders

Lately, I've started noticing how some Spanish nouns are merely past-participles of verbs (with the addition of a -ado/-ada suffix), and that those verbs are sometimes derived from other nouns by ...
Jemenake's user avatar
  • 181
8 votes
2 answers
179 views

Convention for group-recited, gender-specific, self-referencing pronouns

What convention (or conventions) exist for words that are recited by a group of people, but refer to oneself using gender-specific pronouns? The most common context is probably group worship in a ...
Flimzy's user avatar
  • 12.9k
7 votes
4 answers
3k views

How do you say "I have two sons"?

"Yo tengo dos hijos" means I have two children or I have two sons. I assume this means "children" by default, but how do you then say: "I have two sons"? Of course, I could add "Y no hijas" but this ...
Little Bobby Tables's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
5k views

Is "número" masculine or feminine?

English: Consider this sentence "Mi habitación es la número cinco." Why couldn't "número" be masculine as in "el número cinco"? Does it have something to do with the gender of "habitación"? I'm ...
gnarlybracket's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
652 views

Why is it "el arte moderno" and "las artes finas"?

(I'm a native Spanish speaker.) Why the apparent change of gender?
eipipuz's user avatar
  • 173
7 votes
2 answers
409 views

Using "De él" for a noun

I have a question about using "de él" in Spanish. I was reading the following sentence as part of a review in a hotel during my Spanish class: Reservé una habitación individual en este ...
vik1245's user avatar
  • 663
7 votes
3 answers
794 views

Which feminine words end "-o"?

What are the feminine exceptions to the general rule "Spanish nouns ending -o are masculine"?
jacobo's user avatar
  • 19.5k
7 votes
1 answer
12k views

¿Demasiado o demasiada?

Hoy leí una publicación en Facebook que mostraba un dialogo más o menos así: -A mi me gusta la luna, el café, los libros, escribir, la música y cantar. -Que raro eres -y tú demasiada común A mi me ...
Mauricio Martinez's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

Palabras con diferencia de género según la región

El Diccionario de la Lengua recoge en pollero, ra dos acepciones casi idénticas: 2. m. y f. Méx. Persona que transporta trabajadores indocumentados a los Estados Unidos de América. 4. m. El ...
user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
227 views

Gender illusions?

This is a multiple question about genders. Recently I just wondered about this subject while writing and thought: Why is juez or concejal considered masculine while agente and detective are not? ...
Jose Luis's user avatar
  • 6,687
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can you say "linduro" to refer to a man as a "lindura"?

Okay so I've been searching Spanish nicknames and if you refer to a girl, you can call her lindura which they say means cutie or beauty (depending on which site you're on). Would the male version of ...
Greta Tesorro's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
4k views

What are the gendered words for horse?

Spanish is apparently like English in that there are a multitude of words for horses. In English, we have "colt", "equine", "filly" (female), "horse", "mare" (female), "mount", "stallion" (male), and ...
Patrick Dark's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
1k views

Llevar + past participle: agreement with object

Llevar can be used with a past participle as a phrasal verb and the construct vaguely translates into something like to have been: Lleva cerrado esa tienda desde 1990. That store has been closed ...
TheLearner's user avatar
  • 5,411
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Gender agreement with "fin de semana"

Would it be el fin de semana próxima or el fin de semana próximo for next weekend? And how would you say last weekend in Spanish?
TheLearner's user avatar
  • 5,411
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

¿Por qué se dice El iPad/un iPad?

Si un iPad es una tablet, ¿Por qué se usan artículos masculinos para referirse a él? Suena muy raro si digo una iPad, la iPad, etc. No sé si es sólo en Colombia donde se dice así y si en otros ...
Castiblanco's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
11k views

¿Por qué no existe la palabra "marida"?

El fememino de esposo es esposa. ¿Por qué "marido" no tiene un equivalente en femenino "marida"? En el DLE se ve: marido Del lat. marītus. m. Hombre casado, con relación a su ...
Mauricio Martinez's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

Millones y Millonas

Viendo un video de Nicolas Maduro presidente de Venezuela el dice: Millones y millonas de Bolivar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrXQkPOvI7A en 0:42 ¿Es correcto decir millonas o es un modismo en ...
Emilio Gort's user avatar
  • 2,850
7 votes
3 answers
321 views

How to ask: "What are these?" (items of unknown gender)

If I have an object in my hand that I do not know the Spanish word for, I would ask "¿Qué es esto?" for "What is this?". Since there is no neuter plural pronoun, how do I ask &...
Cephas's user avatar
  • 71
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

What percentage of nouns ending in -a are masculine and what percentage of nouns ending in -o are feminine?

I was going through a discussion thread over at duolingo ("How to use El and La in Spanish"), when I came upon the following question: Anyone know the percentage of Spanish nouns ending in -a that ...
Lisa Beck's user avatar
  • 5,543
6 votes
3 answers
851 views

Are there other "feminine only" adjectives in Spanish besides "embarazada"?

In most if not all Spanish dictionaries I've checked, embarazada is only ever listed in its feminine form unlike all other adjectives I can think of. Is this semantic because it's considered that ...
hippietrail's user avatar
  • 5,264
6 votes
2 answers
993 views

Gender of adjectives when no noun is defined

I've always been taught that the gender of the adjective must agree with the noun. I was speaking to a friend about 'Orange is the New Black' (Netflix series), and couldn't decide how to translate, ...
NotEvans.'s user avatar
  • 305