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Nearly all words in Spanish can be placed in one of two categories — masculine and feminine. However, there are some words of ambiguous gender that don't fit quite so neatly.
Of course, some words, such as names of many occupations, are masculine when they refer to men and feminine when they refer to women, as in el dentista for male dentist and la dentista for female dentist. However, there are a number of words that, for whatever reason, haven't been firmly established as being of one gender or the other.
Following is a list of the most common of these words. Where one gender appears before the word, it is the gender that is viewed most widely as correct, and the gender that should be learned by foreigners. Where both appear, either gender is widely accepted, although the most commonly used gender is listed first. Where no gender is listed, the usage depends on region.
| Palabra |
Translation |
Notes |
| la acné |
acne |
|
| el anatema |
anathema |
|
| el arte |
arte |
The masculine is used when arte is singular, but the feminine is often used in the plural, as in artes bellas (fine arts). |
| el autoclave |
sterilizer |
|
| el azúcar |
sugar |
Although azúcar is a masculine word when standing alone, it is often used with feminine adjectives, as in azúcar blanca (white sugar). |
| la babel |
bedlam |
|
| el calor |
heat |
The feminine form is archaic. |
| la/el chinche |
small insect |
|
| el cochambre |
dirt |
|
| el color |
color |
The feminine form is archaic. |
| el cutis |
complexion |
|
| la dote |
talent |
|
| la duermevela |
nap |
Compound words formed by joining a third-person verb and a noun are nearly always masculine. However, the ending apparently has influenced usage of this word toward the feminine. |
| el enema |
enema |
|
| los herpes |
herpes |
|
| la/el Internet |
Internet |
The general rule is that new words imported from other languages are masculine unless there's a reason for making them feminine. In this case, the feminine is often used because the word for a computer network (red) is feminine. |
| el interrogante |
question |
|
| la Janucá |
Hanukkah |
Unlike the names of most holidays, Janucá is usually used without a definite article. |
| el/la lente, los/las lentes |
lens, glasses |
|
| la libido |
libido |
Some authorities say that libido and mano (hand) are the only Spanish words ending in -o, other than shortened forms of longer words (such as foto for fotografía and disco for discoteca, or occupational words, such as la piloto for a female pilot), that are feminine. However, the word is often treated as masculine. |
| la/el linde |
boundary |
|
| el mar |
sea |
Mar is usually masculine, but it becomes feminine in some weather and nautical usage (such as en alta mar, on the high seas). |
| el/la mimbre |
willow |
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| la/el pelambre |
thick hair |
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| el/la prez |
esteem, honor |
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| la/el pringue |
grease |
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| radio |
radio |
When it means "radius" or "radium," radio is invariably masculine. When it means "radio," it is feminine in some areas (such as Spain), masculine in others (such as Mexico). |
| el reuma |
rheumatism |
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| sartén |
frying pan |
The word is masculine in Spain, feminine in much of Latin America. |
| la testuz |
animal forehead |
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| la tilde |
tilde, accent |
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| el tizne |
soot, stain |
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| el tortícolis |
stiff neck |
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| la treponema |
type of bacteria |
Like some other words of limited medical usage, this word is feminine according to dictionaries, but masculine in actual use. |
| el trípode |
tripod |
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| la/el web |
web page, web site, World Wide Web |
This word may have entered the language as a shorter form of la página web (web page). |
| el yoga |
yoga |
Dictionaries list the word as masculine, but the ending has led to some feminine usage. |
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