CONTENTS
BY ENDING
NOTE: There are many exceptions. When memorizing
vocabulary, students should learn all nouns together with the article.
- Masculine are:
- Most words ending in a consonant: el can
(dog); el ferr (iron); el ped (foot); el sapoun (soap).
- Most words ending in -o: el
livro (book); el piano (piano);
el povlo (people).
- Most words ending in a stressed vowel or a diphthong:
el bambóu (bamboo); el bôu
(ox); el café (coffee house); el calhéu (pebble); el câu
(basement; cave); el
comité (committee).
- Words of Greek origin ending in -ma: el
clima (climate); el côma
(coma); el problêma (problem).
- Feminine are:
- Most words ending in -a: la casa (house);
la planeita (planet); la rosa (rosa); la teica (shop).
- Most words ending in -e, -ë: la
base (base); la ecleipse (eclipse); la fame (hunger); la fûlme (thunderbolt); la imagë (picture); la larynge
(larynx); la maire (mother); la nhive (snow).
- Most abstract nouns ending in -at, -ut: la amixtat
(friendship); la estat (summer); la joëntut
(youth); la salut
(health).
- Most nouns ending in -ç: la crûç (cross);
la paç (peace);
la pulç (flea);
la vouç (voice).
- Most nouns ending in -joun , -nhoun, -sioun, -ssoun, -tzoun, -xoun:
la cantzoun (song); la qüessoun
(question); la explosioun (explosion);
la opinhoun (opinion); la
permixoun (permission); la prijoun (prison).
BY MEANING
- Masculine are:
- Most animate nouns referring to males: el gail
(rooster); el homne (man); el poriyn (boy); el taur
(bull).
- Names of months and days of the week:
el jeunêr (January);
el mardzi (Tuesday).
- Names of cardinal points: el sud (south).
- Words that are not normally nouns when used as nouns: el
blanc (the white); un sí (a yes); el avant (the front of).
- Names of countries and regions not ending in -a: el Altoun
(Altoun [Tundrian province]); el Brasil;
el Canadá; el Cile; el
Cypro.
- Names of mountains and mountain ranges not ending in -a (or -e, if
in the plural): li Appêniyni; el Hartz; el Vesûv
(Vesuvius); li Vogi
(the Vosges mountains).
- Most names of trees except for fruit trees: el aveit
(fir); el betêil (birch); el fraixno (ash).
- Names of weights and measures in the metric system: el gramma;
el litro; el metro; el volt.
- Most names of metals: el aluminiûm;
el aur
(gold); el ferr (iron);
el latoun (brass).
- Names of hotels and restaurants: el Hilton; el Treis-Esteile.
- Feminine are:
- Animate nouns referring to females: la
actriyç (actress); la feuna (woman); la javuta (girl); la lûpa
(she-wolf); la vacca (cow).
- Names of countries and regions ending in -a: la América; la
Austria; la Creita (Crete); la Francia; la Tundria.
- Names of mountains and mountain ranges ending in -a (or -e, if in
the plural): le Alpe; la Etna; le Himalaye; le Pyreneë.
- Most names of rivers: la Amazón; la Mississippi; la Niyl
(the Nile); la Seina; la Thamisa
(the Thames); la Tunde.
- Most names of fruits: la pira (pear); la pouma
(apple);
la uva (grape).
- Names of fruit trees: la pomera (apple tree); la
cirejera (cherry tree); la morera (mulberry tree).
- Most names of festivals, holidays etc. (la festa being
understood): la Pasqua (Easter); la Quareisma
(Lent); la
Santa-Martiyn (Martinmas); la Sant-Sylvestro
(New Year's Eve); la
Touti-Senti (All Saints).
- Most names of ships (la nâu being understood): la Pinta; la Queen
Elizabeth II; la Titánic.
- Nouns denoting animate beings that may be applied to
both sexes belong to three gender classes:
- The majority of such nouns are masculine:
- People: un ângel (an angel); un autour
(an author); un guardía (a guard); un testimón (a witness).
- Animals:
el delphiyn (dolphin); el êriyç (hedgehog); el falcoun (falcon); el taixoun
(badger).
- Many, however, are feminine:
- People: la
athleita (athlete); la
cognoscentza (acquaintance); le genti
(people [used in the plural only]);
la persouna (person);
la recruta (recruit);
la víctima (victim).
- Animals: la áquila (eagle);
la cobaya
(guinea pig); la leur (hare); la
piyca (magpie); la soriyç (mouse);
la vûlp (fox); la yelna (elk).
- Many such nouns may be of either gender: a default
gender (also used when the sex is indeterminate), and the other gender (only
used when the sex is known to be that):
- People: el/la adolescent;
el/la
astronauta; el/la client (customer);
el/la enfant (child);
el/la genitour (parent);
el/la monarcha;
el/la orphan; and all nouns with the suffix -ista: el/la
biologista; el/la journalista; el/la tourista; etc.
- Animals: la/el giraffa;
la/el gorilla;
la/el hyena;
la/el zebra.
BY ETYMOLOGY
- Nouns derived from Latin masculine nouns are normally
masculine: Lat. canis > Tun. el can (dog); Lat color >
Tun. el colour (colour); Lat. homo > Tun. el homne
(man); Lat murus > Tun. el mur (wall).
- Nouns derived from Latin feminine nouns are normally
feminine: Lat. casa > Tun. la casa (house); Lat. navis >
Tun. la nâu (ship); Lat. turris > Tun. la tûrr (tower). One
major exception is that tree names (fem. in Latin) have normally become masc.
in Tundrian: Lat. arbor > Tun. el arbo (tree); Lat. quercus
> Tun. el querc (oak).
- Nouns derived from singular neuter nouns in
Latin generally became masculine in Tundrian: Lat. mare > Tun. el
mar (sea); Lat. templum > Tun. el templo (temple); Lat.
vinum > Tun. el viyn (wine).
- Nouns derived from plural neuter nouns in Latin became
feminine in Tundrian: Lat. folia > Tun. la folha (leaf); Lat.
ova > Tun. la ova (egg).
- Nouns derived from Greek generally follow the same
pattern: Grk. ho kósmos > Tun. el cosmo (cosmos); Grk. hê
méthodos > Tun. la mêthod (method); Grk. to klíma > Tun.
el clima (climate).
WORDS DISTINGUISHED BY GENDER
There are some common word pairs that are identical except
for gender: the masculine has one meaning, while the feminine another. Common
examples are:
el cail
(corn [on foot]) / la cail (street)
el capital (capital = money)
/ la capital (capital = city)
li clavi (nails) /
le clavi (keys)
el estat (state) /
la estat (summer)
el fiyn
(end) / la fiyn (conclusion)
el flour (wheat flour [arch.])
/ la flour (flower)
el front (front [in war])
/ la front (forehead)
el guiyda (guide) /
la guiyda (guidebook)
el luç (pike [a fish])
/ la luç (light)
el moral
(morale) / la moral (moral [of a
story])
el mort
(dead person)
/ la mort (death)
el mur
(wall) / la mur (mouse)
el offiç
(office, post) / la offiç (pantry)
el part
(delivery, birth)
/ la part (part)
el rat
(rat) / la rat (raft)
Note also:
el mar (sea)
/ la mar (large inland lake, but also poetic
for sea)
The following word pairs (homophones in speech) also
belong here, even though an additional distinction is introduced by a difference
in spelling:
el cayl
(puppy) / la cail (street) [both pronounced /'kaĭl/ ]
el côl (mountain pass)
/ la caul (cabbage) [both pronounced /'kɔl/ ]
el tour (trip, tour)
/ la tûrr (tower) [both pronounced /'tur/ ]