# Humans vs Human Beings **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207 "2015-05-30T17:32:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/1 "2015-05-30T17:32:29Z")
Why do some people feel the need to add “beings” after “human”? Is it inappropriate to just say “humans”? What is “beings” supposed to express? And am I the only one who’s bothered by it? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/2 "2015-05-30T18:33:32Z")
> [@Apollon](#): > > And am I the only one who’s bothered by it? You’re the first I’ve ever heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/3 "2015-05-30T18:46:07Z")
The word “human” is an adjective. It’s also a noun, but some people may balk at using it this way, because they think it’s confusing or awkward, or they are bothered when words that were one part of speech get used as different parts of speech (adjectives used as nouns, nouns as verbs, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/4 "2015-05-31T01:13:51Z")
For me, ‘human’ is appropriate when talking about species (birds, insects, mammals etc.). ‘Human Being’ is used when speaking philosophically and/or morally (what it means to act like a\* human being\* for example). ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/5 "2015-05-31T01:47:54Z")
I always say “people.” FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/6 "2015-05-31T02:01:18Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > For me, ‘human’ is appropriate when talking about species (birds, insects, mammals etc.). ‘Human Being’ is used when speaking philosophically and/or morally (what it means to act like a\* human being\* for example). This. We are all human; sadly, we are not all human beings. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/7 "2015-05-31T02:18:10Z")
Because, language. It doesn’t have to be logical. But this, in fact, has a logical history. Being as a noun for a thing that exists dates to the 14th century. Human in both its adjective and noun forms to the mid-15th century. Human being logically puts the adjective and noun together, and dates from c1690. Can human being have a difference meaning from human? Sure, just Google uses of the term. It’s useful, so it stays in the language. Even if there were no real differences and both terms could be used interchangeably it would stay in the language. Language is like that. I voted “I don’t care,” but an even better option would be, “I like having the possibility of more nuance when I want to express something.” ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/8 "2015-05-31T02:59:46Z")
Moving to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/9 "2015-05-31T03:31:13Z")
I used to compile my own lists of comparative vocabulary across hundreds of languages, similar to Swadesh lists. All the words I’d chosen for my lists were nouns for some reason. I had “human” as one of the terms, but I was thinking noun. I soon discovered that every dictionary for every other language only translated “human” with adjectives. To get the noun form I had to look for “human being.” For example, in Latin, \*humanus \*only counts as an adjective, and for the noun, you have to say _homo_, as in _Homo sapiens_. After a while of consistently finding this sort of thing, my brain got fixed on thinking of the noun as “human being.” Later, when I made dictionaries for my conlangs, I followed suit. So my answer is “human being, but it’s not important.” Because I’d gotten into the habit of this, but on the other hand, I’m well aware that you can freely verb nouns and noun adjectives, one of the cool features of our English language. Most other languages are not so readily malleable. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-vs-human-beings/721207/10 "2015-06-01T21:03:43Z")
Given phrases like “to err is human” I think specifying “human being” can help to eliminate some possibility of ambiguity. It’s a small possibility, though, so I voted that I don’t really care.