100 Common Spanish Nouns and Grammar Rules

Nouns are a fundamental part of any language. We use them all the time, when we call someone or name the things around us, we are using nouns.

Nouns in Spanish have a gender and number, and they’re classified in different categories. We've put together a list of essential nouns you can use in your daily conversations to help improve your Spanish.

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What are nouns?

Nouns (sustantivos) are the words we use to name living things (people, animals and plants), objects, places, feelings and ideas.

Gender

Nouns in Spanish have a gender: feminine or masculine. This means that every word that names a person, place, thing or idea is either feminine or masculine.

How do you know if a noun is masculine or feminine? You can tell the gender of a noun in Spanish by looking at the letters at the end of the word. You´ve got to see what letter(s) the word ends with.
It's important to know the gender of nouns in Spanish because the gender of the noun changes the article or adjective you´ll use with the noun.

• Female nouns use the articles la (the) or una (a/an), and they´re used with adjectives that end in -a.

• Masculine nouns are used with articles like el (the) or un (a/an), and they're used with adjectives that end in -o.

Let's take a look at some examples of masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish.

Note:_To make the feminine of a noun, you have to replace the final “o” for an “a''.

Examples of masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish

There are a few exceptions, with masculine nouns that end in -a:

• el aroma - the aroma, the scent

• el Canadá - Canada

• el clima - the climate

• el cometa - the comet

• el cura - the priest

• el día - the day

• el diagrama - the diagram, the outline

• el dilema - the dilemma

• el diploma - the diploma

• el drama - the drama

• el enigma - the enigma

There are also some exceptions where feminine nouns end in -o:

• la dinamo - the dynamo

• la foto - the photo

• la mano - the hand

• la moto - the motorcycle

• la radio - the radio

To find out more about Spanish feminine and masculine nouns, read our easy guide on genders and nouns.

Number

In Spanish, nouns also have a number, which means that a word can be singular or plural.

Singular nouns in Spanish are those that name a single element.

Plural nouns in Spanish name more than one element.

How do you know if a noun is singular or plural? Again, look at the end of the word. If the noun ends in ‘s’ it is a plural. Much like in English.

For example: casas - houses, árboles- trees, lámparas - lamps.

To make singular nouns plural you have to add an “s” or “es” at the end.

What are the different types of Spanish nouns?

There are eight different types of nouns in Spanish.

Spanish nouns are classified into different categories that we'll explore below.

Common nouns and proper nouns

Common nouns allow us to name things, people or animals of the same class or species in a general way.

For example: padre - father, perro - dog, mujer- woman and mesa - table.

Proper nouns allow us to name a subject or object in an individual way, differentiating it from the rest of the group to which it belongs.

They can name people like Mary, Andrea, García or Smith and geographical places, such as Argentina, Mexico City or America.

Remember that proper nouns are always written with the initial capital letter.

Concrete and abstract and nouns

Concrete nouns name tangible elements, in other words, items which can be perceived with the five senses.

For example: foto - picture, motocicleta - motorcycle, and puerta - door.

Abstract nouns name elements that cannot be perceived with the five senses.

For example: felicidad - happiness, dolor - pain, esperanza - hope and maldad - evil.

Individual and collective nouns

Individual nouns are those that name an individual being or thing, even if it´s plural.

For example: perro - dog, cerdo - pig, mesa - table, silla - chair, and their plurals (perros - dogs, cerdos - pigs, mesas- tables, sillas - chairs).

Collective nouns are words that name a collection or group of people, animals or things without using the plural. So “perros” is an individual noun (plural) while "jauría" is a collective noun.

Here's a list of collective nouns:

• Bandada - Flock: A group of birds; also used to discuss small hoofed animals such as sheep or goats.

• Cardúmen - Shoal: A group of fish.

• Clase - Class: A group of students who are taught together at school, college, or university.

• Colonia - Colony: A group of ants.

• Conjunto - Set: A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to describe rules or a social group of people.

• Coro - Choir: A large, organized group of singers.

• Enjambre - Swarm: A group of insects.

• Equipo - Team: Several people or animals who do something together as a group.

• Familia - Family: A group of people who are related to each other, such as a mother, a father, and their children.

• Grupo - Group: A very general term used to describe people, places, things, and animals.

• Junta - Board: A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an advisory role.

• Manada - Pack: A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects.

• Montón - Heap: A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with “pile.”

• Multitud - Crowd: Usually used to describe a group of people.

• Orquesta - Orchestra: A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a conductor.

• Otoño - Fall: Often used to discuss weather, such as rain, snow or hail.

• Pandilla - Gang: Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers.

• Panel - Panel: A group of experts.

• Personal - Staff: A group of people who work in the same place.

• Pila - Pile – An untidy collection of items such as rubbish.

• Pila - Stack: A group of items neatly laid one on top of another, such as a stack of books.

• Racimo - Bunch: Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers, keys, or bananas.

• Rebaño - Herd: A group of herbivore animals.

• Series – Series: Used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after another.

• Tripulación - Crew: Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to describe aircraft and ships personnel.

• Tropa - Troupe: A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group of monkeys.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Countable nouns name elements that can be counted, so they can be described using collective nouns (nouns that can be made plural)

For example: avión - airplane, barco- ship, gallina - hen and perro - dog.

Uncountable nouns name elements that cannot be divided in units or counted individually.

For example: calor - heat, lluvia - rain, naturaleza - nature and arroz - rice.

We always refer to rice - arroz - as a whole, never as individual rice grains: a bag of rice, a pound of rice, a bowl of rice, etc.

Gente - people is a collective noun and uncountable.

Gente is a singular noun that refers to a group of individuals. For this reason, it is not used as a plural. You can say mucha gente (too many people), bastante gente (a lot of people) orpoca gente (a few people), but not una gente, dos gentes, seis gentes (one people, two peoples, six peoples).

There are only two justified reasons to use the plural “gentes:"

1. It is a stylistic or expressive plural (almost exclusively restricted to the literary language).

An example of this is the book title of Ephraim George Squier “Nicaragua, sus gentes y paisajes” (1852). - “Nicaragua, its people and landscapes.”

1. !start2!It is an American usage, typical of areas where gente is a countable and not a collective noun, synonymous with persona (persona).

For example: “Qué se siente cambiar a alguien malo como yo y hacerlo buena gente” (“Noreh - Buena Gente” 00:47-53) - “How does it feel to change someone bad like me and make them good people.”

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Other types of nouns and pronouns

Direct object nouns

The direct object is the noun (persona u objeto) that receives the direct action of the verb.

To identify a direct object ask: ¿Qué? o ¿A quién? (What? or Whom?)

The direct object is usually a thing and does not have a preposition in front of it. But it can also be a person and in this case it always has the preposition “a” in front of it.

Let’s take a look at the direct object nouns in Spanish:

Los niños comieron pastel. - The children ate cake.

Ask yourself, “What did the children eat?” The answer is the direct object, which in this case is “cake.”

Let’s try another example:

Los padres abrazan a sus hijos. - The parents hug their children.

What’s the direct object in this sentence? Ask yourself, “Whom do the parents hug?” The answer is “children.” So, “children'' is the direct object.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are pronouns that replace the noun and express possession or belonging. They agree in gender and number with the possessed object and not with the possessor.

These are the possessive pronouns.

Possessive Pronouns

• Ese carro es mío. - That car is mine.

• No toques esa porción de pizza, es mía. - Don't touch that slice of pizza, it's mine.

• Creo que esas llaves son mías. - I think those keys are mine.

• Me parece que este cuaderno es el tuyo. - I think this notebook is yours.

• ¡Lo mío es tuyo! - Mine is yours!

• Lo que ocurrió fue responsabilidad nuestra. - What happened was our responsibility.

• En ese país vivimos nuestros primeros años de casados. - In that country, we lived our first years of marriage.

• ¿Cómo les fue a vuestros alumnos en la excursión? - How did your students do on your field trip?

• Sus padres le hicieron una fiesta en la playa para su cumpleaños. - His parents threw him a beach party for his birthday.

• ¿Le preguntas a María si esa cartera es suya? - Do you ask Maria if that purse is hers?

• Esos cuadernos son suyos, pregúntale si te los presta. - Those notebooks are hers, ask her if she lends them to you.

• Los pantalones son suyos. - The pants are yours.

100 frequently-used Spanish nouns and their meaning

100 commonly used nouns in the Spanish language that you’ll want to get familiar with:

1. Alumnos - Students

2. América - America

3. Andrea: Proper noun

4. Años - Years

5. Árbitra - Referee

6. Árbitro - Referee

7. Árboles - Trees

8. Argentina - Argentina

9. Aroma - Aroma, scent

10. Arroz - Rice

11. Avión - Airplane

12. Bandada - Flock: A group of birds; also used to discuss small hoofed animals such as sheep or goats

13. Barco - Ship

14. Calor - Heat

15. Camarera - Waitress

16. Camarero - Waiter

17. Canadá - Canada

18. Cardúmen - Shoal: A group of fish

19. Cartera - Purse

20. Casa - House

21. Casas - Houses

22. Cerdo - Pig

23. Ciudad de México - Mexico City

24. Clase - Class: A group of students who are taught together at school, college, or university

25. Clima - Climate

26. Colonia - Colony: A group of ants

27. Cometa - Comet

28. Conjunto - Set: A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to describe rules or a social group of people

29. Coro - Choir: A large, organized group of singers

30. Cuadernos - Notebooks

31. Cumpleaños - Birthdays

32. Cura - Priest

33. Día - Day

34. Diagrama - Diagram, outline

35. Dilema - Dilemma

36. Dinamo - Dynamo

37. Diploma - Diploma

38. Dolor - Pain

39. Drama - Drama

40. Enigma - Enigma

41. Enjambre - Swarm: A group of insects

42. Equipo - Team: Several people or animals who do something together as a group

43. Esperanza - Hope

44. Excursión - Trip

45. Familia - Family: A group of people who are related to each other, such as a mother, a father, and their children

46. Felicidad - Happiness

47. Fiesta - Party

48. Foto - Photo

49. Foto - Picture

50. Gallina - Hen

51. García: Proper noun

52. Género - Gender

53. Grupo - Group: A very general term used to describe people, places, things, and animals

54. Junta - Board: A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an advisory role

55. Lámparas - Lamps

56. Llaves - Keys

57. Lluvia - Rain

58. Maestra - Teacher

59. Maestro - Teacher

60. Maldad – Evil

61. Manada - Pack: A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects

62. Mano - Hand

63. María - Mary

64. Mesa – Table

65. Mono - Monkey

66. Montón - Heap: A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with “pile.”

67. Moto - Motorcycle

68. Motocicleta - Motorcycle

69. Mujer - Woman

70. Multitud - Crowd: Usually used to describe a group of people

71. Naturaleza - Nature

72. Niños – Children

73. Sustantivos -Nouns

74. Número - Number

75. Orquesta - Orchestra: A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a conductor

76. Otoño - Fall: Often used to discuss weather, such as rain, snow or hail.

77. Padre - Father

78. Padres - Parents

79. País - Country

80. Paisaje - Landscapes

81. Pandilla - Gang: Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers

82. Panel - Panel: A group of experts

83. Pantalones - Pants

84. Pastel - Cake

85. Perro - Dog

86. Personal - Staff: A group of people who work in the same place

87. Pila - Pile – An untidy collection of items such as rubbish

88. Pila - Stack: A group of items neatly laid one on top of another, such as a stack of books

89. Puerta - Door

90. Racimo - Bunch: Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers, keys, or bananas

91. Radio - Radio

92. Rebaño - Herd: A group of herbivore animals

93. Responsabilidad - Responsibility

94. Señor - Gentleman

95. Señora - Lady

96. Series – Series: used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after another

97. Silla – Chair

98. Smith: Proper noun

99. Tripulación - Crew: Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to describe aircraft and ships personnel

100. Tropa - Troupe: A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group of monkeys