★ Nouns for jobs will always be masculine ....................................................

★ Nouns describing a man will be masculine ...................................................

★ Nouns describing a person who isn't necessarily feminine are usually masculine ............

★ The months of the year are masculine .......................................................

★ Nouns describing a woman will be feminine ..................................................

★ Nouns for more abstract concepts are usually feminine, especially ending in -ость or -ность

★ Nouns ending in ж, ч, ш, or щ + ь are usually feminine ....................................

☆ Finally, most -ь nouns are feminine in general!