ala del corazón

ala del corazón f (plural alas del corazón)

1. auricle (of heart)

   Synonym: aurícula

• Feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like ala del corazón take the singular definite article el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el ala del corazón. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al ala del corazón, del ala del corazón.

These nouns also usually take the indefinite article un that is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una is also permitted): un ala del corazón or una ala del corazón. The same is true with determiners algún/alguna and ningún/ninguna, as well as for numerals ending with 1 (e.g., veintiún/veintiuna).

However, if another word intervenes between the article and the noun, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (la, una etc.) must be used: la mejor ala del corazón, una buena ala del corazón.

• If an adjective follows the noun, it must agree with the noun's gender regardless of the article used: el ala del corazón única, un(a) ala del corazón buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (las, unas etc.) are always used.

• “ala del corazón”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28