Ordinal indicator

º and ª are ordinal indicators. The equivalent of the adjective "12^th" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages is "12º" when the noun being modified is of masculine grammatical gender. The corresponding symbol is used in "12ª" when the noun is feminine. º and ª also appear in the abbreviations for "Numero" and "Numera", which are the translations of the English word "Number". For example, instead of "No. 12 Privet Drive", one would write "Nº 12 Privet Drive".

Note: The degree symbol "°" is different from both "º" and "ª", although its appearance is almost identical in many fonts.