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[-] Deme@sopuli.xyz 25 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I mean, in casual spoken finnish, "it" dominates. The third person singular for people "hän" is already gender neutral, but I guess we prefer not to make assumptions about anyone's personhood :D. Or maybe it (se) just rolls off the tongue more conveniently.

[-] Haaveilija@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

Also funnily enough many people use "hän" when talking about pets and other animals whilst still using "se" when talking about people. "Hän" feels a bit stiff and formal when talking about people.

[-] lepinkainen@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

“Hän” feels like thee thou in English to me, way too old timey and formal.

It (se) is neutral and relaxed

[-] stray@pawb.social 5 points 6 days ago

"Thou" is actually the informal alternative to "you". It came to be seen as insulting and its usage was dropped.

[-] Deme@sopuli.xyz 6 points 6 days ago

Yeah, I think it's to make sure that the animal in question is being recognized as an individual, whereas for people that's taken for granted.

[-] Tonava@sopuli.xyz 1 points 5 days ago

Yeah it's signaling respect

[-] Pelicanen@sopuli.xyz 7 points 6 days ago

I think it has a lot to do with how it conjugates, "sen" and "sillä" is quicker than "hänen" and "hänellä".

[-] Taleya@aussie.zone 5 points 5 days ago

Yah, i get why they prefer using it and in Finnish it's fine. In English it's....Very much not. It's a dehumaniser. Was an interesting conversation.

this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2025
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