Topics
BeginnerGrammatical Gender
How grammatical gender works in Spanish, English and Chinese.
Compare languages
Spanish has grammatical gender for all nouns. English has natural gender only (he/she/it). Chinese has no grammatical gender whatsoever — 他/她/它 are homophones.
Overview
Grammatical gender is a system where nouns are classified into categories that trigger agreement on articles, adjectives, and pronouns.
- Spanish: Has grammatical gender for all nouns — animate and inanimate. Gender is mostly arbitrary for inanimate objects. Agreement is required across the entire noun phrase.
- English: Has natural gender only. He/she for people/animals with biological sex. Everything else is “it.” The singular “they” is now standard for gender-neutral reference.
- Chinese: Has no grammatical gender at all. The written forms 他 (he), 她 (she), 它 (it) look different but are pronounced identically (tā). No agreement required.
Spanish
The gender system
Every Spanish noun is either masculine or feminine. This determines:
- The definite article: el (masc) / la (fem)
- The indefinite article: un (masc) / una (fem)
- Adjective endings: -o (masc) / -a (fem)
- Pronouns: él (masc) / ella (fem)
Typical endings
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| -o | -a |
| -e (many) | -e (many) |
| -or | -ora |
| -ón | -ona |
| -ma (Greek origin) | -dad / -tad |
| -pa / -ta (Greek) | -ie |
Examples:
- el libro (masc) / la mesa (fem)
- el problema (masc, Greek origin) / la foto (fem, short for fotografía)
- el sofá (masc) / la mano (fem, exception)
Arbitrary gender
Many inanimate nouns have gender that doesn’t match meaning:
| Noun | Gender | Surprising? |
|---|---|---|
| el vestido | masculine | ”dress” is masculine |
| la corbata | feminine | ”tie” is feminine |
| el maquillaje | masculine | ”makeup” is masculine |
| la mano | feminine | ”hand” is feminine |
| el día | masculine | ”day” is masculine |
| la noche | feminine | ”night” is feminine |
| el mar | masculine | ”sea” is masculine |
| la luna | feminine | ”moon” is feminine |
Agreement
Gender agreement chains through the entire noun phrase:
- el coche rojo (masc) → un coche rojo → ese coche rojo → los coches rojos
- la mesa roja (fem) → una mesa roja → esa mesa roja → las mesas rojas
- la chica alta (fem) → una chica alta → esa chica alta → las chicas altas
Pronoun agreement:
- ¿Dónde está el libro? Lo compré ayer. (masc)
- ¿Dónde está la mesa? La compré ayer. (fem)
Epicene nouns
Some nouns are the same in masculine and feminine; only the article changes:
- el estudiante / la estudiante (the student)
- el testigo / la testigo (the witness)
- el personaje / la personaje (the character)
Gender-neutral evolution
Spanish is evolving gender-neutral forms:
- elle as gender-neutral pronoun
- -e ending: les estudiantes (instead of los/las)
- ellxs, amigxs (non-standard, contested)
The Real Academia Española (RAE) currently rejects most of these forms, but they are widely used in activist and youth communities.
English
Natural gender
English only marks gender for animate beings with biological sex:
| Gender | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | he / him / his | The boy said he was tired. |
| Feminine | she / her / hers | The girl said she was tired. |
| Inanimate | it / its | The book said it was interesting. |
| Plural | they / them / their | The children said they were tired. |
No noun gender
English nouns have no grammatical gender:
- the table (not la mesa / el libro)
- the idea (not la idea / el concepto)
- the water (not el agua / la lluvia)
Singular they
Modern English uses they as a gender-neutral singular pronoun:
- Someone left their book here.
- If a student needs help, they should ask.
- Alex said they would come.
Accepted by: APA, MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, Merriam-Webster, Oxford English Dictionary.
Gendered nouns (limited)
Some English nouns are inherently gendered:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neutral |
|---|---|---|
| actor | actress | actor (now preferred) |
| waiter | waitress | server |
| steward | stewardess | flight attendant |
| chairman | chairwoman | chair / chairperson |
| policeman | policewoman | police officer |
| fireman | firewoman | firefighter |
Trend: Neutral forms are increasingly preferred in professional contexts.
Gender in pronouns only
English gender is expressed only in pronouns, not in nouns or articles:
- a doctor (can be he, she, or they)
- a teacher (can be he, she, or they)
- the cat (it, or they for pets)
Chinese
No grammatical gender
Chinese has no grammatical gender for nouns. The concept simply doesn’t exist in the grammar.
Written pronoun distinction
| Character | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 他 | tā | he (human, general) |
| 她 | tā | she (female) |
| 它 | tā | it (animal/object) |
| 祂 | tā | He (divine, Christian) |
All pronounced identically: tā
The invention of 她
她 was created in the early 20th century under Western influence. Before that, 他 was used for everyone.
In spoken Chinese, context determines whether tā means he, she, or it:
- 他/她/它来了。(He/she/it came.)
Without context, you cannot know the gender from speech alone.
No agreement
Because there is no gender, there is no agreement:
- 这个好学生 (this good student — no change for gender)
- 那个漂亮的桌子 (that beautiful table — no change for gender)
Gender-neutral by default
Chinese is inherently gender-neutral:
- 他是医生。(He/she is a doctor.)
- 我朋友来了。(My friend came. — gender unknown, irrelevant)
When gender must be specified, it’s done explicitly:
- 男朋友 (boyfriend)
- 女朋友 (girlfriend)
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| System | Grammatical (all nouns) | Natural (animates only) | None |
| Articles agree | Yes (el/la) | No (the) | No (no articles) |
| Adjectives agree | Yes (gender + number) | No | No |
| Pronouns agree | Yes (él/ella) | Yes (he/she/it/they) | Written only (他/她/它) |
| Inanimate gender | Arbitrary | None | None |
| Gender-neutral option | elle (emerging) | they (singular) | Default (他) |
| Agreement chain | Full noun phrase | None | None |
| Learning burden | High (memorize each noun) | Low | None |
Examples in context
The tall student
- ES: el/la estudiante alto/a (agreement required)
- EN: the tall student (no agreement)
- ZH: 高个子的学生 (no agreement)
Where is he/she?
- ES: ¿Dónde está él/ella?
- EN: Where is he/she/they?
- ZH: 他/她在哪儿？(same pronunciation)
A red car / house
- ES: un coche rojo / una casa roja (different endings)
- EN: a red car / a red house (same)
- ZH: 红色的车 / 红色的房子 (same)
Common mistakes
-
English/Chinese speakers learning Spanish: Treating gender as logical: la vestido → el vestido
-
English speakers learning Spanish: Forgetting adjective agreement: la casa rojo → la casa roja
-
Spanish speakers learning English: Using “he” as generic: If a student comes, he should… → …they should…
-
Spanish speakers learning Chinese: Looking for gender on nouns: el libro / la mesa → Chinese: no gender at all
Related topics
- Articles: How gender determines article choice
- Adjectives: How adjectives agree with noun gender
- Pronouns: How gender works in the pronoun system
- Plurals: How plural formation interacts with gender
Examples
System type
Grammatical (masc/fem for all nouns)
Articles agree
Yes (el/la/los/las)
Adjectives agree
Yes (gender + number)
Pronouns agree
Yes (él/ella/ellos/ellas)
Animate nouns
Gender matches biological sex
Inanimate nouns
Arbitrary gender (la mesa, el libro)
Gender-neutral pronoun
elle / ellx (emerging)
Examples
System type
Natural (he/she/it for animates)
Articles agree
No (the)
Adjectives agree
No
Pronouns agree
Yes (he/she/it/they)
Animate nouns
He/she by biological sex
Inanimate nouns
It (no gender)
Gender-neutral pronoun
they (singular)
Examples
System type
None (no noun gender)
Articles agree
No (no articles)
Adjectives agree
No
Pronouns agree
Written only (他/她/它 homophones)
Animate nouns
No gender distinction
Inanimate nouns
It (no gender)
Gender-neutral pronoun
TA / 他们 (inclusive)
Comparison at a glance
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| System type | Grammatical (masc/fem for all nouns) | Natural (he/she/it for animates) | None (no noun gender) |
| Articles agree | Yes (el/la/los/las) | No (the) | No (no articles) |
| Adjectives agree | Yes (gender + number) | No | No |
| Pronouns agree | Yes (él/ella/ellos/ellas) | Yes (he/she/it/they) | Written only (他/她/它 homophones) |
| Animate nouns | Gender matches biological sex | He/she by biological sex | No gender distinction |
| Inanimate nouns | Arbitrary gender (la mesa, el libro) | It (no gender) | It (no gender) |
| Gender-neutral pronoun | elle / ellx (emerging) | they (singular) | TA / 他们 (inclusive) |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Side-by-side comparison
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| System type | Grammatical (masc/fem for all nouns) | Natural (he/she/it for animates) | None (no noun gender) |
| Articles agree | Yes (el/la/los/las) | No (the) | No (no articles) |
| Adjectives agree | Yes (gender + number) | No | No |
| Pronouns agree | Yes (él/ella/ellos/ellas) | Yes (he/she/it/they) | Written only (他/她/它 homophones) |
| Animate nouns | Gender matches biological sex | He/she by biological sex | No gender distinction |
| Inanimate nouns | Arbitrary gender (la mesa, el libro) | It (no gender) | It (no gender) |
| Gender-neutral pronoun | elle / ellx (emerging) | they (singular) | TA / 他们 (inclusive) |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Examples in context
System type
Spanish
Grammatical (masc/fem for all nouns)
English
Natural (he/she/it for animates)
Chinese
None (no noun gender)
Articles agree
Spanish
Yes (el/la/los/las)
English
No (the)
Chinese
No (no articles)
Adjectives agree
Spanish
Yes (gender + number)
English
No
Chinese
No
Pronouns agree
Spanish
Yes (él/ella/ellos/ellas)
English
Yes (he/she/it/they)
Chinese
Written only (他/她/它 homophones)
Animate nouns
Spanish
Gender matches biological sex
English
He/she by biological sex
Chinese
No gender distinction
Inanimate nouns
Spanish
Arbitrary gender (la mesa, el libro)
English
It (no gender)
Chinese
It (no gender)
Gender-neutral pronoun
Spanish
elle / ellx (emerging)
English
they (singular)
Chinese
TA / 他们 (inclusive)
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Key Takeaways
Spanish: Has grammatical gender for all nouns — animate and inanimate. Gender is mostly arbitrary for inanimate objects. Agreement is required across...
English: Has natural gender only. He/she for people/animals with biological sex. Everything else is "it." The singular "they" is now standard for gen...
Chinese: Has no grammatical gender at all. The written forms 他tā (he), 她tā (she), 它tā (it) look different but are pronounced identically (tā). No agr...
Key concepts compared: System type, Articles agree, Adjectives agree.
Last updated: June 4, 2026