Nouns That Change Meaning With Gender
Some nouns look the same but mean different things as masculine and feminine: o capital (money) and a capital (capital city).
How It Works
Common pairs
- o capital (money for investment) / a capital (capital city)
- o cura (priest) / a cura (cure, treatment)
- o pendente (earring) / a pendente (slope)
- o cólera (cholera) / a cólera (anger)
- o editorial (newspaper editorial) / a editorial (publishing house)
Agreement follows the meaning. Articles, demonstratives and adjectives all show the gender: unha capital moi antiga (a very old capital city), un capital moi pequeno (a very small amount of capital).
Watch out for cometa. In Galician, cometa is only masculine and means a comet: un cometa brillante. A kite is a different word, o papaventos.
Learn with the article. As with all nouns, learn these words together with o or a. Galician gender does not always match Spanish either; see gender differences from Spanish.
Examples (6)
- Santiago é a capital de Galicia.
Santiago is the capital of Galicia.
- A empresa necesita máis capital.
The company needs more capital.
Capital as money is masculine: o capital.
- Non puido conter a cólera.
She could not hold back her anger.
Anger is feminine: a cólera. O cólera is the disease.
- Onte vimos un cometa no ceo.
Yesterday we saw a comet in the sky.
Cometa is always masculine in Galician. A kite is o papaventos.
- O cura da parroquia casounos.
The parish priest married us.
- Perdín un pendente na praia.
I lost an earring on the beach.
O pendente is an earring; a pendente is a slope.
Common Mistakes
Using the masculine article for a capital city.
Ourense é o capital da provincia.Ourense é a capital da provincia.A capital city is feminine: a capital. O capital means money.
Using the feminine article for an earring.
Leva unhas pendentes de ouro.Leva uns pendentes de ouro.An earring is o pendente, masculine. A pendente is a slope.
Using cometa for a kite, as in Spanish.
Regaláronlle unha cometa ao neno.Regaláronlle un papaventos ao neno.In Galician a kite is o papaventos. Cometa is only masculine and means a comet.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Changing a noun's gender can select a different lexical meaning.
Related Patterns
- Noun Gender
Explains noun gender in general and why nouns are learned with their article.
Level 1 - Gender Differences From Spanish
Lists nouns whose gender differs from Spanish.
Level 2 - actor / actriz; rei / raíñaIrregular Feminine Forms
Another topic about gender that you have to learn word by word.
Level 5
Practice Nouns That Change Meaning With Gender in Bubblegum
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