Gender of nouns and adjectives ending in -ista and -crata in Spanish

Learn about Spanish nouns ending in -ista and -crata

Nouns ending with -ista and -crata usually refer to people and can be either masculine or feminine, depending on who you are referring to.

Read and listen to these examples with the noun dentista:

El dentista me hizo un empaste ayer.The (male) dentist gave me a filling yesterday.

La dentista dice que me lave los dientes todos los días.The (female) dentist told me to brush my teeth every day.

Los dentistas se reunieron en el colegio médico.The (all male or mixture of male and female) dentists met at the medical college.

Las dentistas ayudan a los niños siempre.The (female) dentists always help the children.

As you can see above, both masculine and feminine singular forms are identical. You only need to change the article to specify if it is male or female. To make the plural for either gender, simply add an -s.

El oculista. Los oculistasThe optician. The opticians

La feminista. Las feministasThe feminist. The feminists

Spanish nouns ending in -ista 

Here you can see other nouns ending in -ista following the same rule as dentista, referring to jobs or someone supporting an idea or ideology:

  • periodista (journalist)
  • futbolista (football player)
  • artista (artist)
  • colonialista (colonialist)
  • centrista (centrist)
  • izquierdista (politically left-wing)
  • derechista (politically right-wing)

Spanish nouns ending in -crata

Nouns ending in -crata denote someone "in favour of a government or an ideas system" and follow the same rule as the -ista nouns:

Un autócrata muy conocido fue el zar de Rusia.A well-known (male) autocrat was the Tsar of Russia.

La burócrata vive bien de su sueldo.The (female) bureaucrat lives well from her salary.

Los aristócratas poseen muchas propiedades en el extranjero.The (all male or mixture of male and female) aristocrats possess many properties abroad.

Las demócratas respetan las opiniones ajenas.The (female) democrats respect other people's opinions.

Bear in mind that lots of these nouns could also be used as adjectives, in which case the same rule applies. For example:

La feminista dio un gran discurso sobre la desigualdad de género. (noun)

The feminist  (lady) gave a speech about gender inequality.

El conferenciante, que era feminista, dio un discurso sobre la desigualdad de género. (adjective)

The speaker (male), who was feminist, gave a speech about gender inequality. 

 

See also Género.

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Examples and resources

Los dentistas se reunieron en el colegio médico.The (all male or mixture of male and female) dentists met at the medical college.
Las demócratas respetan las opiniones ajenas.The (female) democrats respect other people's opinions.
Las dentistas ayudan a los niños siempre.The (female) dentists always help the children.
El oculista. Los oculistasThe optician. The opticians
Un autócrata muy conocido fue el zar de Rusia.A well-known (male) autocrat was the Tsar of Russia.
La dentista dice que me lave los dientes todos los días.The (female) dentist told me to brush my teeth every day.
La burócrata vive bien de su sueldo.The (female) bureaucrat lives well from her salary.
El dentista me hizo un empaste ayer.The (male) dentist gave me a filling yesterday.
Los aristócratas poseen muchas propiedades en el extranjero.The (all male or mixture of male and female) aristocrats possess many properties abroad.
La feminista. Las feministasThe feminist. The feminists
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