The feminine counterparts of masculine nouns 1

The three main patterns for feminine nouns — Masculine nouns form the feminine in three main ways: (1) change -o → -a: médico → médica; (2) add -a to a consonant: profesor → profesora; (3) completely different word: el hombre / la mujer, el padre / la madre. A fourth group keeps the same form: el/la estudiante.

Nouns ending in -ista, -nte are invariable — Nouns ending in -ista or -ante/-ente keep the same form for both genders — only the article changes: el/la periodista, el/la dentista, el/la estudiante, el/la cantante. These are common professional nouns.

New feminine forms for traditionally male roles — As more women enter professions, new feminine forms are appearing: la jueza (judge), la presidenta (president), la jefa (boss), la ingeniera (engineer). These co-exist with the invariable forms and are increasingly preferred in contemporary Spanish.