Most Spanish nouns ending in -ía/-ia are feminine

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:

Fue a la panadería para comprar pan y dulces.He went to the bakery to buy bread and cakes.

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.

Podemos tomar unos helados en esa heladería.We can have some ice-creams at that ice-cream parlour.

Mi hermano va a estudiar Geología en la universidad.My brother is going to study Geology at university.

La fotografía es uno de mis pasatiempos favoritos.Photography is one of my favourite hobbies.

La criminología es algo que me apasiona.Criminology is something I'm passionate about.

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.

Debemos tener mucha armonía en el mundo.We must have a lot of harmony in the world.

La epidemia afectó a mucha gente en varios países.The epidemic affected lots of people in several countries. 

Me sorprendió mucho la noticia.I was very surprised by the news.

La modestia y la simpatía son dos buenas virtudes.Modesty and friendliness are two good virtues.

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:

La fotografía. Las fotografías.Photography. Photographies.

La epidemia. Las epidemias.Epidemic. Epidemics.

If the noun has an accent on the , 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.

 

 

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Examples and resources

Fue a la panadería para comprar pan y dulces.He went to the bakery to buy bread and cakes.
Siempre voy a la frutería de Antonio para comprar naranjas. I always go to Antonio's greengrocer's [lit: fruit shop] to by oranges.
Podemos tomar unos helados en esa heladería.We can have some ice-creams at that ice-cream parlour.
La fotografía es uno de mis pasatiempos favoritos.Photography is one of my favourite hobbies.
La criminología es algo que me apasiona.Criminology is something I'm passionate about.
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 modestia y la simpatía son dos buenas virtudes.Modesty and friendliness are two good virtues.
La influencia de la tecnología quizás nos hace más perezosos.The influence of technology maybe makes us more lazy.
La fotografía. Las fotografías.Photography. Photographies.
La epidemia. Las epidemias.Epidemic. Epidemics.
Voy a investigar un poco sobre la gastronomía de Méjico.I'm going to do a bit of research on Mexican gastronomy.
Debemos tener mucha armonía en el mundo.We must have a lot of harmony in the world.
La pastelería de la Avenida Colón vende unas tartas muy ricas.The cake shop on Colón Avenue sells some very tasty cakes.
Me sorprendió mucho la noticia.I was very surprised by the news.
Mi hermano va a estudiar Geología en la universidad.My brother is going to study Geology at university.
Let me take a look at that...