Is there a way to tell if a word is a female or a male word? (without finding out each one separately)

Question

Is there a way to tell if a word is a female or a male word? (Without finding out what each one is separately) Thank you.

The answer is no. Sorry - ian-hill, MAR 23, 2010

What if the word doesn't end with either? (or do all nouns end with a or o?) - espanolalumna, MAR 23, 2010

That is one of the problems not all nouns end in O or A - ian-hill, MAR 23, 2010

Answer 1

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You'll have to learn the general rules, such as words ending in -O are masculine and words ending in -A are feminine. Then learn the exceptions, such as "la mano" and "el agua."

I've seen some tricks to learning the general rules, for example L-O-S-E-R-S is a way to remember that words ending in those letters are generally masculine. Also, D-ION-Z-A for the endings which are generally feminine words.

Search the web and look at several lessons on gender and you'll get 90% of it. The remaining 10% we just guess until someone corrects us.

Thank you! :) - espanolalumna, MAR 23, 2010

I've also learned the "tricks" Marianne mentions. They work pretty well. Might get you up to 95%. Thanks Marianne. - MexGuy, MAR 23, 2010

Answer 2

Casi siempre, pero--"tengo un problema porque escribo los poemas..."

Answer 3

if it ends in an A it's feminine and if it ends in an O it's masculine.

Not always. !!! - ian-hill, MAR 23, 2010