No Grammatical Gender
Guarani has no grammatical gender, and the word for he, she or it is the same.
How It Works
Guarani has no masculine or feminine nouns. A describing word keeps one form: porã stays the same next to a girl or a young man. The Academy gives mitãkuña porã and kariaʼy porã.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| haʼe | he, she, it |
| jagua | dog, of either sex |
| jaguakuña | female dog (jagua + kuña “woman”) |
| mitãkuimbaʼe | boy (mitã “child” + kuimbaʼe “man”) |
| mitãkuña | girl (mitã + kuña) |
The marker i- shows neither sex nor number. Iporã can mean “he is handsome”, “she is pretty” or “it is nice”.
Say kuña or kuimbaʼe only when the sex matters. Otherwise a noun stands alone, and the situation tells the listener the rest.
A few family words depend on who is speaking. A father says che raʼy “my son” and che rajy “my daughter”. That is vocabulary, not grammar. See Kinship Words.
Examples (5)
- Haʼe ojerokyse.
He or she wants to dance.
Haʼe and the prefix o- do not show sex.
- Jaguakuña.
Female dog.
The word jagua “dog” plus kuña “woman”.
- Mitãkuimbaʼe.
Boy.
Mitã “child” plus kuimbaʼe “man” names a boy.
- Umi mitãkuña porã.
Those pretty girls.
The describing word porã does not change for girls.
- Umi kariaʼy porã.
Those handsome young men.
The same porã is used next to kariaʼy, “young man”.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
- che / nde / haʼeI, You and He or She
Haʼe covers he, she and it.
Level 1 - A Noun With No Plural
A noun also needs no plural ending when the number is clear.
Level 1 - Kinship Words
A few family words depend on who is speaking.
Level 2 - la / lo Before a NounLa and Lo Before a Noun
The Spanish words la and lo before a noun do not show gender either.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
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