grammar.nouns.gender-exceptions
Gender exceptions: la mano, el día, la foto
A short list breaks the -o/-a pattern: la mano, el día, el mapa, la radio, la moto, la foto (shortenings keep the original gender).
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Explication
A short, learnable list breaks the -o/-a default. Feminine nouns ending in -o are few: la mano, plus clipped words that keep the gender of their full form — la foto(grafía), la moto(cicleta), la radio(difusión).
Masculine nouns ending in -a include el día, el mapa, el sofá, el planeta, el tranvía, and the whole Greek -ma family (el problema, el sistema, el idioma, el clima, el tema).
Separately, words like el agua, el águila, el hambre take el in the singular only for pronunciation (they begin with a stressed a-) but remain feminine — el agua está fría, las aguas. That's a sound rule, not a true gender exception; see the el-with-feminine-nouns rule.
Exemples
Raise your right hand.
Région: global
It was a very long day.
Région: global
Raise your hand if you have a question.