In Spanish, nouns can be either one of two genders, grammatically speaking: feminine or masculine. As many Spanish language learners are taught early on, a simple way to distinguish a word’s gender is by observing its ending. Typically, if a word ends in ‘-a’, you can be almost certain that it is feminine. However, as always, there are exceptions to this rule.

Words ending in ‘-ma’, ‘-pa’ and ‘-ta’ are often masculine, as many of these are of Greek origin. In Greek, they take on the masculine form and, thus, when they were brought into use in the Spanish language, they continued to maintain this gender, despite ending in ‘-a’. It’s worth noting that most words that end in ‘-pa’ are actually feminine. However, as there are numerous exceptions, it is one that’s worth including in this list to bear in mind.

On the other hand, several words with the ‘-ta’ ending are masculine because they represent professions. The article will allow the reader to know if the professional is a woman or a man. For example: el dentista (a male dentist) or el ciclista (the cyclist is a male). If the dentist is a woman, it’s la dentista and if the cyclist is a woman, it’s la ciclista.

Some other examples:

‘-ma’:

el idioma = the language

el sistema = the system

el problema = the problem‘

‘ma’ exception:l

a cama = the bed

‘-pa’:

el mapa = the map

‘-pa’ exception: la tapa = the lid

‘-ta’:

el planeta = the planet

el cometa = the comet

el periodista (or la periodista if referring to a woman) = the journalist‘

-ta’ exception:

la fruta = the fruit

Want more Spanish language tips? Check out our blogs on Por vs. Para and Spanish adjectives. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive more straight to your inbox every month!

If you would like to read more about Mexican culture, history, cuisine and language, check out our blog page for our latest monthly articles. You can also sign up to our newsletter to receive these straight to your inbox along with the latest news about our non-profit school for local and Indigenous students in Felipe Carrillo Puerto. 

The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.