In English, you have the beings which have genders and the “things” that are… let’s say neutral !
In French everything, being or thing has a gender and we don’t have a neutral !
So apart from living beings having an obvious gender… how do you know the gender of a “thing” ? Well… you don’t, unless you learn it.
OK, that being said, don’t fret. If you get mixed up and use the wrong gender, the probability is that any French on the planet will still understand you. And if there is a doubt when the apparent same word doesn’t have the same meaning when it’s masculine or feminine… the context will make the difference.
I’m not saying here that you should not learn the genders… just don’t worry about it, it will come with practice.
And above all, don’t let genders be a stumbling block in your progress !