How to play El or La?
Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and the word for “the” changes with it: el for masculine, la for feminine. A noun comes up with its meaning; pick its article. Click or tap, or press← or E for el and → orL for la.
After each answer you see the reason. A right answer moves on by itself; a miss waits so you can read why. Three misses end the run. Tricky ones plays only the exceptions and the endings people get wrong.
The rules that get you most of the way
- -o is usually masculine (el libro), -a usually feminine (la mesa).
- -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine: la canción, la ciudad, la costumbre.
- -aje and -or are masculine: el viaje, el color (but la flor).
- Many words in -ma come from Greek and are masculine: el problema, el tema, el idioma.
- Some break the pattern and are simply worth learning: el día, el mapa, la mano, la foto.
- Feminine words that start with a stressed a- take el in the singular: el agua, but las aguas and el agua fría.
- Words ending in -e or another consonant can go either way, so learn them with the article.
More Spanish games
Spanish Word Sprint builds vocabulary, Spanish Verb Rush drills conjugations, and the Spanish Sentence Builder puts the words together.
Questions
Can I hear the words? Yes, if your device has a Spanish voice: each noun is read out with its article after you answer (turn sound off in the header to stop it).
Is it free? Yes, with no account. Your best run is kept in this browser.