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Persono vs Homo

de AmericanBull, 24 de agosto de 2016

Aportes: 5

Idioma: English

AmericanBull (Mostrar perfil) 24 de agosto de 2016 00:44:04

I know there are different situations when one is used instead of the other, but I'm not clear on the rules for it. Can someone describe how I can know when to use the appropriate one, by some rule of thumb?

Vestitor (Mostrar perfil) 24 de agosto de 2016 11:52:44

If you keep in mind that homo = human (being) and persono = person, it's possible to use them much as you would in English. Apart from the plural 'people' which is generally always 'homoj' (though could be personoj..!). I feel that homoj refers to humans in general, whereas personoj refers to particular people in relation to something...someone else probably has a better opinion on that.

Li estas interesa persono = He is an interesting person

Li estas interesa homo.= He is an interesting human being.

While the second is not wrong, you can see the shade of meaning and where you would likely use it (or not).

Remember also that in some sentences where English might use 'person', neither persono nor homo are even necessary, e.g:

He is a fat man = Li estas dikulo; She is a rich woman = Ŝi estas riĉulo.

opalo (Mostrar perfil) 24 de agosto de 2016 12:33:37

Persono emphasizes the individuality, the personeco. By contrast, homo is just the neutral word for a member of Homo sapiens.

AmericanBull (Mostrar perfil) 24 de agosto de 2016 17:58:23

So much more clear responses, THANK YOU! I was thinking almost exactly the same. The Duolingo people aren't as clear as you guys are.

sudanglo (Mostrar perfil) 25 de agosto de 2016 11:19:01

Homo has a rather broad meaning. It can mean a human (as opposed to other species) but it is also the word use to refer to men or people in general. But, If you wish to specify a man rather than a women, use viro - homino seems to be quite rare.

So 'homplena strato' is a busy street full of people. Speaking of accommodation you might say du-persona ĉambro.

Homo can be a rather direct way of addressing someone.

Kion vi volas, homo?

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