Is hunger feminine or masculine in Spanish?
It looks like a trick question, but it’s not.
The word hambre is actually feminine, but it takes the article “el” because of pronunciation.
This happens with feminine nouns that begin with a stressed “a”.
If we said “la hambre”, it would sound strange in Spanish and awkward to pronounce.
This rule avoids having two stressed “a” sounds in a row (like la-a).
That’s why we say tengo mucha hambre instead of tengo mucho hambre ❌.
This also happens with many other feminine nouns that begin with a stressed “a” or “ha”.
For example: el águila blanca.
Notice something important: the article changes to “el” for phonetic reasons, but the adjective stays feminine (blanca).
And this isn’t the only case…
There’s another very common one that you probably use every day.
I explain it in detail in this short video: Watch the video
Why is it “el hambre” but “la mano”? Spanish gender can seem random — but there’s logic behind it.
Whether you’re in Buenos Aires or learning from home, we’ll help you make sense of it all.
