Why “genders” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
Huh, I'm in the same situation but not sure I've ever considered an aspect of my language easy just because I speak it, and my partner's country is known for saying "deutsche sp…
by Aachen · Sep 20, 2026
> I would expect a majority of nouns to be according to the animate / inanimate split Well, as I understand, the actual animate/inanimate split was there at least 10 0…
by nlitened · Sep 20, 2026
The other way around, Spanish uses the definite article where English would not: • Tengo los ojos azules -> I have blue eyes (not I have the blue eyes) • Juego el tenis -> I pla…
by dspillett · Sep 20, 2026
Interestingly my language has both genders and (reduced but present) animate-inanimate distinction. It also used to have singular, plural and "double" declination. As far as I u…
by my-huge-pony · Sep 20, 2026
On one hand I agree genders are pointless for chair and book. On the other hand, many nouns are the female or augmentative version of the base word. From your examples: "silla"…
by igsomething · Sep 20, 2026
In languages with genders you need fewer unique words for gender-related concepts. For example English (genderless) has "boy" and "girl", while Spanish (male and female) has "ni…
by igsomething · Sep 20, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "genders" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "genders" over time.