Gender Specific Spanish Nouns

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When speaking of people and animals, most Spanish nouns will refer directly to the gender of the nouns being referred to. Below are some samples of various Spanish nouns, with the masculine form of the word followed by the feminine form.

Arquitekto [ar-ki-tek-to] Arquitekta [ar-ki-tek-ta] ‘architect’
Cajero [ka-heh-ro] Cajera [ka-heh-ra] ‘cashier’
Chico [chi-ko] Chica [chi-ka] ‘boy/girl’
Director [di-rek-tor] Direktora [di-rek-to-ra] ‘director’
Dueño [dwe-nyo] Dueña [dwe-nya] ‘owner’
Esposo [es-poh-so] Esposa [es-poh-sa] ‘spouse’
Granjero [gran-heh-ro] Granjera [gran-heh-ra] ‘farmer’
Hermano [er-mah-no] Hermana [er-mah-na] ‘brother/sister’
Huesped [wes-ped] Huespeda [wes-pe-da] ‘guest’
Hijo [i-ho] Hija [i-ha] ‘son/daughter’
Ladron [lahd-ron] Ladrona [lahd-ro-na] ‘thief’
Medico [me-di-ko] Medica [me-di-ka] ‘doctor’
Nieto [nee-eh-to] Nieta [nee-eh-ta] ‘grandchild’
Perro [per-ro] Perra [per-ra] ‘dog’

Notice that most of the masculine nouns referring to persons and animals above end in -o or use the base form (without any suffix) of the word, while the feminine nouns
end in -a.

As a side note, when talking about a mixed gender group, the masculine form of the word is used, as shown in the picture. Visit Spanish Grammar to learn more about gender specificity in Spanish nouns.