Question

Why is water in Spanish (agua) el agua instead of la agua? Because I thought agua was feminine

Answer 1

Good question In Spanish, the word "agua" which means 'water' is a special feminine noun. ... Because feminine singular nouns beginning with a stressed "a-" or "ha-" take the definite article “el” not “la” as you might expect. The reason has to do with pronunciation; "la agua" would sound like "lagua" and it might be confusing.

Answer 2

Answer:

That's a great question -- and one that gets asked a lot.

Explanation:

There are three explanations at work here, depending...:

1.   There are many words of Greek origin that end in an a, but are truly masculine, for instance, el tema, el clima.

2.  When a feminine word begins with a stressed 'a', "el" is used instead of "la."  So:

"El agua" - (feminine)

"La avenida" - The avenue (feminine)

3.  Some people say that the word would sound confusing or funny to the ear: 'lagua.'