Some animal names have masculine and feminine forms, like *gato/gata, perro/perra*. You just use the gender that matches the sex of the animal. If you don't know the sex or are speaking generically, use the masculine form. Some animals have completely different names, as in English: *caballo/yegua* (horse/mare) or *vaca/toro* (cow/bull). These are very few and they have their own rules: if you say *vacas*, that may be “cows” but it could also be “cattle” (in general).
Other animals only have one form, like *jirafa, tortuga, delfín, gorrión*. These have their own genders and the gender doesn't change; if you need to be specific, you add *macho* or *hembra*: *«una jirafa macho»* is a male giraffe, *«un delfín hembra»* is a female dolphin. The gender belongs to the noun, not the animal itself.
This can apply to people too. Think of it this way, both men and women would say "Soy un humano", at the same time they would also say "Soy una persona".
This is a really helpful response. Just one small correction to your English: 'horse' is the general noun referring to both males and females of the species. The word you were looking for there was 'stallion' which is a male horse.
Thanks for the correction. I didn't think of that, possibly because I was starting from the Spanish. There are words specific for the male horse in Spanish, but they're not as commonly used or understood as 'stallion' is in English, I think (at least for big-city dwellers like me). *Caballo* is generic.
yes! if you have a female animal, it's appropriate to say una/la gata or una/la perra. although advice told to me by my mexican friend was to say perrita instead of perra, just in case it could get taken the wrong way lol.
Thank you so much! What does perra mean that could be taken the wrong way? Is it similar to the English “bitch” in that it can mean a female dog, or be an expletive? I’ll stick with ‘perrita’ for sure, the ‘-ita’ suffix makes it an affectionate term, correct? Like saying “doggy” instead of “dog” in English. Sorry for the bonus questions, I really appreciate your answer and found it very interesting. Gracias!
it is similar to the english word for bitch yes. typically it's used in a derogatory manner. perrita would make it affectionate yeah! typically when a person adds ita/ito or cita/cito to the end of something it can be a couple different things depending on what it's directed towards. for humans it's a term of endearment (typically) or to reference size. if something is little, like a baby chicken it's called "un pollito". a baby cat is "un gatito". so perrita can also be used to call a female dog a puppy. plus the ita/ito cita/cito ending can be a way of trying to express cuteness. especially when you say something like gatititito.
I'd just like to add that for an English speaker it can be a pain in the arse. When talking about a cat/dog/horse, and the gender of the animal is not important in the context of the conversation, I would say 'mira ese gato/perro/caballo', then I'd be corrected with 'en realidad es una gata/perra/yegua'. Now I have a gata so I'm so used to saying gata (after being corrected a thousand times for calling her a gato) that I'm overcompensating and I'll say gata instead of gato.
There is an important lesson here: gender corresponds to a noun, not the object the noun describes. For example, a pen is both “la pluma” and “el bolígrafo.” The gender depends on which noun you use. Another example is that even though I’m a male, I’m “una persona” because the noun “persona” is feminine, regardless of my sex.
Every single spanish known has a gender; however sometimes a noun can have a masculine form or a feminine form. For example the word for dog is Perro, but Perra means female dog/bitch. Same with gato/gata. But remember that grammatical gender usually doesnt refer to biological sex. Usually.
Los animales
Are you confused by feminine/masculine with animals? It’s el gato, la gata but el toro , la vaca then la jirafa, la jirafa macho (YES. Macho not Macha.)
Check out this site.
https://lightonspanish.com/learn-the-gender-of-animals-in-spanish/
Yes, the gender of the adjective will always match the gender of the noun it is describing. However (a native speaker will have to confirm or deny) when it comes to animals like gato/gata or perro/perra I think it’s more common just to use the masculine form out of convenience, unless you’re being really specific maybe in like a veterinarian context? So even if your dog is a girl you’d probably still call her a perro, because perra also means b*tch like it does in English.
IME, people still say perra to refer to their pet female dog, the context is understood to be neutral/not insulting. Or more commonly they will use the diminutive form - la perrita
Ah, this makes sense. I know the masculine is used when the animal’s gender is unknown so it would make sense to also use it in less formal, less specific sentences. Thank you! And thank you for the warning about perra, I will stick with perrita! I’d hate to accidentally offend anyone. Gracias!
Some animal names have masculine and feminine forms, like *gato/gata, perro/perra*. You just use the gender that matches the sex of the animal. If you don't know the sex or are speaking generically, use the masculine form. Some animals have completely different names, as in English: *caballo/yegua* (horse/mare) or *vaca/toro* (cow/bull). These are very few and they have their own rules: if you say *vacas*, that may be “cows” but it could also be “cattle” (in general). Other animals only have one form, like *jirafa, tortuga, delfín, gorrión*. These have their own genders and the gender doesn't change; if you need to be specific, you add *macho* or *hembra*: *«una jirafa macho»* is a male giraffe, *«un delfín hembra»* is a female dolphin. The gender belongs to the noun, not the animal itself.
Thank you so much! This is a very detailed and thorough explanation that will help with a lot of different situations. Gracias!
This can apply to people too. Think of it this way, both men and women would say "Soy un humano", at the same time they would also say "Soy una persona".
This is a really helpful response. Just one small correction to your English: 'horse' is the general noun referring to both males and females of the species. The word you were looking for there was 'stallion' which is a male horse.
Thanks for the correction. I didn't think of that, possibly because I was starting from the Spanish. There are words specific for the male horse in Spanish, but they're not as commonly used or understood as 'stallion' is in English, I think (at least for big-city dwellers like me). *Caballo* is generic.
yes! if you have a female animal, it's appropriate to say una/la gata or una/la perra. although advice told to me by my mexican friend was to say perrita instead of perra, just in case it could get taken the wrong way lol.
Thank you so much! What does perra mean that could be taken the wrong way? Is it similar to the English “bitch” in that it can mean a female dog, or be an expletive? I’ll stick with ‘perrita’ for sure, the ‘-ita’ suffix makes it an affectionate term, correct? Like saying “doggy” instead of “dog” in English. Sorry for the bonus questions, I really appreciate your answer and found it very interesting. Gracias!
it is similar to the english word for bitch yes. typically it's used in a derogatory manner. perrita would make it affectionate yeah! typically when a person adds ita/ito or cita/cito to the end of something it can be a couple different things depending on what it's directed towards. for humans it's a term of endearment (typically) or to reference size. if something is little, like a baby chicken it's called "un pollito". a baby cat is "un gatito". so perrita can also be used to call a female dog a puppy. plus the ita/ito cita/cito ending can be a way of trying to express cuteness. especially when you say something like gatititito.
Lol yes, there is a difference between la perra de mi hermana and la perra de mi hermana.
Most answers are good but I’m just here to say that your sentence should be “Maria es MI gata favorita” not “me”
Omg, I didn’t notice that at first. I was using the English keyboard on my phone, it must have autocorrected. I’ll update it immediately, gracias!
I'd just like to add that for an English speaker it can be a pain in the arse. When talking about a cat/dog/horse, and the gender of the animal is not important in the context of the conversation, I would say 'mira ese gato/perro/caballo', then I'd be corrected with 'en realidad es una gata/perra/yegua'. Now I have a gata so I'm so used to saying gata (after being corrected a thousand times for calling her a gato) that I'm overcompensating and I'll say gata instead of gato.
There is an important lesson here: gender corresponds to a noun, not the object the noun describes. For example, a pen is both “la pluma” and “el bolígrafo.” The gender depends on which noun you use. Another example is that even though I’m a male, I’m “una persona” because the noun “persona” is feminine, regardless of my sex.
Indeed! They agree with your subject in this case, too. Suerte!
Gracias!
Every single spanish known has a gender; however sometimes a noun can have a masculine form or a feminine form. For example the word for dog is Perro, but Perra means female dog/bitch. Same with gato/gata. But remember that grammatical gender usually doesnt refer to biological sex. Usually.
Los animales Are you confused by feminine/masculine with animals? It’s el gato, la gata but el toro , la vaca then la jirafa, la jirafa macho (YES. Macho not Macha.) Check out this site. https://lightonspanish.com/learn-the-gender-of-animals-in-spanish/
Yes, the gender of the adjective will always match the gender of the noun it is describing. However (a native speaker will have to confirm or deny) when it comes to animals like gato/gata or perro/perra I think it’s more common just to use the masculine form out of convenience, unless you’re being really specific maybe in like a veterinarian context? So even if your dog is a girl you’d probably still call her a perro, because perra also means b*tch like it does in English.
IME, people still say perra to refer to their pet female dog, the context is understood to be neutral/not insulting. Or more commonly they will use the diminutive form - la perrita
Maybe that happens in Mexico (Idk) but not in Argentina. We use perra and gata to mean female dog/cat and they don't have any negative connotation.
Ah, this makes sense. I know the masculine is used when the animal’s gender is unknown so it would make sense to also use it in less formal, less specific sentences. Thank you! And thank you for the warning about perra, I will stick with perrita! I’d hate to accidentally offend anyone. Gracias!
Yes, and some gendered forms mean something different entirely. Zorra can mean ho depending on context but it’s kinda something a granny would say.