Masculine and feminine nouns

For nouns ending in -o, change the ending to -a:
- Vecino → Vecina (neighbour)
- Amigo → amiga (friend)
- Maestro → Maestra (master)
For nouns that end in -or, add -a to the ending:
- Profesor → Profesora (teacher)
For nouns that end in -ente, -ante, -ista, make no changes:
- Estudiante (student)
- Artista (artist)
- Mente (mind)
There is a general tolerance of the feminine version of professional titles. For example ‘El jefe’ has traditionally referred to both a male and female boss, but ‘La jefa’ with the -a ending is a more recent addition in the language. Other examples may include:
- El doctor / La doctora (doctor)
- El abogado / La abogada (lawyer)
- El ingeniero / La ingeniera (engineer)
There are certain nouns where the male and female versions do not translate equally, unlike the ones mentioned above, for example:
- Hijo / Hija (son / daughter)
- Hermano / Hermana (brother / sister)
- Señor / Señora (Mister / Mrs.)

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