Today’s blog is about Spanish words that change meaning with gender. If you want to master these special words, take a look at the blog of our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem! 😊
In Spanish, gender of nouns can be feminine or masculine. Nevertheless, there are some that can be of either gender.
When it comes with these nouns, the gender is determined by the gender of the article or the gender of the adjective that refers to them. If you need to refresh articles, go back to our previous blog post on definite and indefinite articles in Spanish 😉
Although the form of these Spanish words does not change with gender, their meaning does. Hence, in order to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, we list below the most frequently Spanish words whose meaning varies depending on the gender.
Let’s start!
CAPITAL
M.: El capital = The capital, the resources
Lucas no tiene capital suficiente para emprender un nuevo negocio = Lucas does not have enough resources to start a new business.
F.: La/una capital = The/a capital
La capital de España es Madrid = The capital of Spain is Madrid
CÓLERA
F.: La cólera = The anger, the fury
No dejes que la cólera se apodere de ti = Don’t let anger get the better of you
M.: El cólera = The cholera (disease)
El cholera es una enfermedad generada por una bacteria = Cholera is a disease caused by a bacterium
COMA
F.: La/una coma = The/a comma (punctuation mark)
No se puede poner la coma entre el sujeto y el verbo de una frase = You cannot put a comma between the subject and the verb in a sentence
M.: El coma = The coma
Afortunadamente mi abuelo despertó del coma ayer = Fortunately my grandfather came out of the coma yesterday
COMETA
M.: El/un cometa = The/a comet
El cielo está muy despejado así que podremos ver el cometa = The sky is very clear so we will be able to see the comet
F.: La/una cometa = The/a kite
Esta tarde habrá una competición de cometas en la playa = This afternoon there will be a kite competition on the beach
CORTE
M.: El/un corte = The/a cut
Me hice un corte con el cuchillo del pan = I cut myself with the bread knife
F.: La corte = The court
El rey siempre viajaba con toda su corte = The king always travelled with his entire court
CURA
F.: La/una cura = The/a treatment, the/a cure
Estoy probando una nueva cura para la caída del pelo = I’m trying a new cure for hair loss
M.: El/un cura = The/a priest
El cura dice misa todo los días a las 19.00h = The priest say mass every day at 7pm
EDITORIAL
F.: La/una editorial = The/a publishing house
La novela de Julia ha sido publicada por la editorial Debolsillo = Julia’s novel has been published by the Debolsillo publishing house
M.: El/un editorial = The/a editorial (opinion article)
El editorial de hoy es sobre el cambio climatico = The editorial in today’s newspaper is about the climate change
FRENTE
F.: La frente = The forehead
Tienes una mancha de tinta en la frente = You have an ink stain on your forehead
M.: El frente = The front
En la plaza del pueblo hay un monumento dedicado a los soldados que cayeron en el frente = In the village square there is a monument dedicated to the soldiers who died at the front
GUÍA
M.: El/un guía = The/a male guide
El guía nos enseñó el centro de Berlin = The guide showed us around the centre of Berlin
F.: La/una guía = The/a guidebook
Siempre viajo con una guía del país que voy a visitar = I always travel with a guidebook of the country I am going to visit
PENDIENTE
F.: La/una pendiente = The/a slope
Después de esta pendiente el camino es todo plano = After this slope the road is all flat
M.: El/un pendiente =The/an earring
María perdió su pendiente en el tren = María lost his earring on the train
ÓRDEN
M.: El órden = The order
El listado de alumnos está organizado por orden alfabético = The list of students is organised in alphabetical order
F.: La/una órden = The/a order, command
Los bomberos dieron la orden de evacuar el edificio = The fire brigade gave the order to evacuate the building
VOCAL
F.: La/una vocal = The/a vowel
Escribe cinco palabras que acaban con la vocal A = Write five words that end with the vowel A
M.: The/a vocal = The/a malel board or committee member
El vocal estaba a favor de la creación de nuevas zonas verdes en la ciudad = The committee member was in favour of the creation of new green areas in the city
This is just a list of the most commonly used Spanish words that change meaning with gender. Do you know more? 😊
Finally, if you wish to study Spanish in Valencia, our Spanish school, El Rincón el Tándem is happy to provide you with group and private lessons in a friendly environment.
If you want to have a more immersive learning experience, you might be interested in our Intensive Spanish Course. Take a look at it!
¡Hasta pronto!
