Quick answer
el · la · los · las
Every noun is masculine or feminine. Usually -o is masculine and -a feminine — with a handful of exceptions worth learning as a group.
The four articles
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | el libro | los libros |
| feminine | la casa | las casas |
The exceptions everyone meets first
These end in -a but are masculine — learn them as a set:
el díathe day
el problemathe problem
el mapathe map
el idiomathe language
la manothe hand — ends in -o, but feminine
a and some
un, una, unos, unas.
un caféa coffee
unas amigassome friends (female)
Memory trick
Learn the article with the word, never the word alone. "Mesa" is half a vocabulary item; "la mesa" is a whole one.
Typical mistakes
la problema
el problema
Greek-origin words in -ma are masculine.
Me gusta el música
Me gusta la música
música is feminine despite the accent.
Check yourself
___ día está bonito.