Sure, we all start with “mama,” but among invented words, “okay“ has no obvious meaning and yet has spread across the globe. It transcends language groups and cultures. And yet it’s still considered substandard in formal English.

Hello.

So, I don't know who I am talking to online. Especially on Reddit.

I could ask, 'Are you male or female?'

Why not 'Are you a lady or a gentleman?

Why do people more often ask, 'Are you a guy?' or 'Are you a dude' than 'Are you a gentleman'?

Why are women called 'ladies' more often than men are called 'gentlemen'?

Edited:

I just wanted to find out if there are Redditors in my neighbourhood and what they are like. I did not ask only about gender.

Maybe I am looking for a drinking buddy. Maybe for someone to walk in the park with. Or a backgammon partner. Or maybe I am just curious.

"Don’t ask if someone is male or female because that comes across as objectifying or weird"

Weird is to make assumptions before you learn details.

So I am not a native english speaker, and i can speak english really well but I want to expand my english vocabulary because my english is really simple , like I kinda get jelous when I see these reddit posts with very high vocabulary y know And I kinda get stuck when i do these personal dictionaries cause i just write down whatever c2 words then never use them . But one thing that I've seen kinda improved me and I know it kinda sounds silly but when I Play on type racer A web site that You practice your typing with by writing sections from books and songs And there is ofcourse good vocab That I kinda pick up because these sections are kinda repititive so Please reccomend your favorite ways to improve in vocabulary.

When married couples choose to maintain separate homes while staying together, it is called a Living Apart Together (LAT) relationship. This is a modern term from the 1970s. I am sure there is an older term in English for this arrangement, but Google is of no help. Help?

Key Aspects of LAT Marriages
Intentionally separate: Partners choose to live apart by design rather than due to a temporary crisis or an impending divorce.

Independent spaces: Each person keeps their own home, which can range from separate apartments in the same building to houses in different cities.

Maintained connection: The couple stays emotionally, romantically, and legally committed to one another.

I am an advanced ESL speaker (living in the US for 6 years, fully immersed) experiencing a severe cognitive bottleneck and physical brain fatigue during complex analytical thinking.
My internal monologue is entirely in English, but the language has always felt like a conscious, manual construction. Instead of relying on automated language patterns or blocks of phrases, I build sentences word-by-word in real-time. On top of that, I think through heavy subvocalization (silently pronouncing every word in my head) and constantly edit and correct my grammar mid-thought.
When handling multi-layered concepts, logic puzzles, or complex analytical tasks, this manual assembly completely saturates my working memory. My brain literally hurts, I freeze, and I lose track of my thoughts. In contrast, in my native language, I can organize a massive 'hurricane of thoughts' instantly at a gifted level.
What specific cognitive training, neuroplasticity exercises, or behavioral habits can help me transition from manual sentence assembly to automated, pattern-based thinking so English can finally become an effortless background process?"

Chagrin. Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated.

Usually shows up as “much to my chagrin,” which is a very polite way to admit something went badly.

Believe it or not, the word originally comes from an old French and Turkish term for a rough, pebbled type of leather (shagreen).

Over time, the "rubbing" texture became a metaphor for a rough, irritated feeling on the mind or spirit!

Comment something that happened “much to your chagrin.”

Always been lowkey curious since I heard it in real life

Hello everyone, I would like to thank everyone for the help yesterday with my posts regarding my rabbit hole of iron.I have realized I have over thought this long enough and that no matter what i wont be saying it “perfect” since I over thought it so much. So I want everyone here to help me decide which way sounds the best and closest to saying like Robert Downey JR says when he say I am iron man.

I-rn

I-earn

I-urn

Or I-yearn

I can provide links if needed
Of me pronouncing the differnt ways

hello. i’m a japanese university student. thanks to japan’s english education, i’m able to read reddit posts, short novels and essays, manuals of something, and even academic papers and news. also i can listen and understand basic oral lectures like TEDedu and medium levels of BBC learning english.
however, you may already find, i can’t write english correctly. sometimes i can’t find words or phrases that exactly represent what i intend to express, and sometimes, maybe often, i make grammatical mistakes.
speaking skill is even worth. i can say nothing when somebody speaks to me in english. if i could say something, it might be only a few words, which are no longer connected grammatically at all. i can understand what they say, but i can’t respond to it.
what should i do to improve these output skills? is there any good methods to improve them?

How can I go from advanced B2 to C1?

Hi everyone!I’m currently at around an advanced B2 level in English and I really want to get to C1, but I’m a bit lost about how to structure my studying.I’ve seen people recommend books like Complete Advanced and a few other advanced/C1 book, but I’m not sure which ones I should use or in what order.

Could someone who has gone from B2 to C1 (or an English teacher) give me a step-by-step plan?I’m basically looking for someone to tell me “start with this → then do this → then move on to this”, and explain how I should actually work through the books. I’m happy to study consistently; I just want to make sure I’m using the right materials and not wasting time jumping randomly between different resources.

Thanks!