ABSTRACT
Dutch dictionaries usually indicate gender by placing an m (mannelijk), a v (vrouwelijk) or an o (onzijdig) after the noun; thus m and v indicate that those nouns are now common gender.
Every new Dutch noun must be learnt together with the appropriate definite article. There are a few reasonably reliable rules for learning the gender of nouns but there are nevertheless many words which do not fit the rules and for which the gender simply has to be learnt by heart. The following is a list of rules, some hard and fast, others a little vague, to assist in learning genders.
