Every noun in the Catalan language has a grammatical gender.

You’ll need to know if a word is masculine or feminine to use it correctly in a sentence.

Making these nouns plural also follows a specific set of rules.

This guide will show you exactly how to identify genders and form plurals in Catalan.

Understanding Catalan noun genders

Catalan uses two grammatical genders for all of its nouns.

Every object, concept, or person is classified as either masculine or feminine.

You can usually guess the gender of a noun just by looking at its ending.

The definite articles placed before the noun also give away the gender.

In standard Catalan, the singular articles are el (masculine) and la (feminine).

If the noun starts with a vowel, both el and la contract into l’.

In the Balearic Islands, people use the regional articles es (masculine) and sa (feminine) instead.

If a Balearic noun starts with a vowel, es and sa contract into s’.

Masculine nouns in Catalan

Most Catalan nouns that end in a consonant or a stressed vowel are masculine.

Nouns ending in -o or -u are also typically masculine.

It’s helpful to memorize the article alongside the word when you learn new vocabulary.

Here are some common masculine nouns in Catalan.

Here’s an example of a masculine noun used in a sentence.

Feminine nouns in Catalan

The vast majority of Catalan nouns ending in an unstressed -a are feminine.

Words ending in -ció, -sio, -tat, and -edat are also almost always feminine.

Here are a few examples of feminine nouns.

Here’s an example of a feminine noun used in a sentence.

Making nouns plural in Catalan

Forming the plural of a noun in Catalan is usually very straightforward.

For most words, you just add an -s to the end of the singular noun.

This basic rule applies to both masculine and feminine nouns.

When a noun becomes plural, its definite article must also become plural.

The standard masculine plural article is els.

The standard feminine plural article is les.

If you’re speaking Balearic Catalan, the plural articles are es (masculine) and ses (feminine).

Here’s an example of plural nouns in action.

Irregular plurals and spelling changes

Some nouns require a small spelling change when they become plural.

The most common rule applies to feminine nouns ending in an unstressed -a.

When these words become plural, the -a always changes to an -es.

For example, la casa (the house) becomes les cases (the houses).

Sometimes, changing the -a to an -es forces a consonant shift to keep the correct pronunciation.

Words ending in -ca change to -ques in the plural.

Words ending in -ga change to -gues in the plural.

Words ending in -ça change to -ces in the plural.

Masculine nouns also have a few special rules for plurals.

Masculine words ending in -s, -ç, or -x usually add -os instead of just -s.

For example, el mes (the month) becomes els mesos (the months).

Words ending in -ig change to -tjos in the plural.

For example, el passeig (the promenade) becomes els passejos.