Take the fastest path to fluent Spanish
Spanish nouns ending in -ía and -ia
Most Spanish nouns that end in -ía and -ia are feminine.
Hava a look at all these examples:
Siempre voy a la frutería de Antonio para comprar naranjas. I always go to Antonio's greengrocer's [lit: fruit shop] to by oranges.
La pastelería de la Avenida Colón vende unas tartas muy ricas.The cake shop on Colón Avenue sells some very tasty cakes.
Mi hermano va a estudiar Geología en la universidad.My brother is going to study Geology at university.
Voy a investigar un poco sobre la gastronomía de Méjico.I'm going to do a bit of research on Mexican gastronomy.
La cirugía estética es algo que nunca he considerado.Plastic surgery is something I've never considered.
La epidemia afectó a mucha gente en varios países.The epidemic affected lots of people in several countries.
La influencia de la tecnología quizás nos hace más perezosos.The influence of technology maybe makes us more lazy.
This ending is very commonly found in the names of Spanish shops, and also for the names of sciences, school subjects and hobbies.
Note that when used as "subjects" that someone is studying, you do not use the article: "...va a estudiar la Geología".
Plural of -ia/-ía Spanish nouns
The plural of these words are formed by adding an -s:
If the noun has an accent on the -í, you need to keep the accent on the plural form too.
However, note that most of these nouns are abstract nouns and they are rarely used in their plural form.
Careful!!
There is a common and important noun that is an exception:
el día (not la día) = the day
Also, bear in mind that when it is a noun that can refer to either a man or a woman, you can have both genders, so, for example:
El guía nos llevó a la catedral
The [male] guide took us to the cathedral.
La guía nos llevó a la catedral.
The [female] guide took us to the cathedral.
Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
La pastelería de la Avenida Colón vende unas tartas muy ricas.The cake shop on Colón Avenue sells some very tasty cakes.
Mi hermano va a estudiar Geología en la universidad.My brother is going to study Geology at university.
Siempre voy a la frutería de Antonio para comprar naranjas. I always go to Antonio's greengrocer's [lit: fruit shop] to by oranges.
La cirugía estética es algo que nunca he considerado.Plastic surgery is something I've never considered.
La epidemia afectó a mucha gente en varios países.The epidemic affected lots of people in several countries.
La influencia de la tecnología quizás nos hace más perezosos.The influence of technology maybe makes us more lazy.
