Some nouns of this type are abbreviations, and have kept the gender of the full word:  cinema  stands for  cinematografo  [m],  auto  for  automobile  [f],  foto for  fotogra fi a  [f], etc. Such cases apart, there is no rule for determining gender, which has to be learned by heart or checked in a dictionary. 7 Some nouns end in  -i . The vast majority are feminine, but there are some exceptions: Two exceptions are  l’alibi  (alibi) and  lo sci  (ski), which are masculine. 9 Occasionally, the gender of a foreign noun is the same as it is for the corresponding Italian word: 10 The following rules can help in determining the gender of nouns: la new wave  is feminine, because  onda  (wave) is feminine. la mail  (e-mail message) is feminine, because  posta  (mail) is feminine. 8 Foreign nouns, unless they refer to a female, are generally masculine: l’analisi  [f] l’ipotesi  [f] la crisi  [f] analysis hypothesis crisis il bar  [m] il camion  [m] il rock  [m] l’hostess  [f] bar lorry rock (music) stewardess la Francia  [f] la Spagna  [f] il Belgio  [m] il Paraguay  [m] France Spain Belgium Paraguay GLYPH<127> All months of the year and days of the week are masculine, apart from domenica  (Sunday), which is feminine. GLYPH<127> All names of towns and cities are feminine, apart from  Il Cairo  [m]. GLYPH<127> All names of languages are masculine. GLYPH<127> Names of countries are normally feminine when they end in  -a  and masculine when they end in any other letter: Unit 1 3