--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hank, when people call people nerds…" description: "\"Hank, when people call people nerds mostly what they're saying is,'You like stuff'.\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/john-green-12_nerd_hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostl_782899.jpg" --- # Hank, when people call people nerds mostly what they're… ![“Hank, when people call people nerds mostly what they're saying is,'You like stuff'.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/john-green-12_nerd_hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostl_782899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/john-green-12_nerd_hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostl_782899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/john-green-12_nerd_hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostl_782899.jpg) > “Hank, when people call people nerds mostly what they're saying is,'You like stuff'.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote redefines “nerd” as someone who loves their interests, turning a potential insult into a compliment about passion. **In simple terms:** Being called a nerd means you love your interests. Key Takeaway Embrace your passions proudly. Themes identity culture language acceptance Mood supportive encouraging Type social psychological When to use this quote - school life - online forums - friendship - personal growth Key Concepts social labeling self-esteem community building Questions to Reflect On - How can we shift perceptions of “nerd”? - What benefits come from embracing niche interests? A Different Perspective Labels can still be used negatively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerd/) [Nerds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerds/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“When people call people nerds, mostly what they're saying is 'You like stuff!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-people-call-people-nerds-mostly-what-they-re-saying-is-you-like-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [When people call people nerds, mostly what they're saying is, 'you like stuff.' Which is not a good insult at all, like, 'you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-people-call-people-nerds-mostly-what-they-re-saying-is-you-like/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff. Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-your-chair-can't-control-yourself love it. when people call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nerds-like-us-are-allowed-to-be-unironically-enthusiastic-about-stuff/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [What I think makes people nerds is just being obsessive. I think that's what nerdiness really is - its people who don't just passively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/what-i-think-makes-people-nerds-is-just-being-obsessive-i-think-that/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > […because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/because-nerds-like-us-are-allowed-to-be-unironically-enthusiastic/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Bobby made references to me a few times on Show Me The Money. He seemed to enjoy using words like 'sangnamja (T/N: true man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-nam-joon/bobby-made-references-to-me-a-few-times-on-show-me-the-money-he/) [Kim Nam-joon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-nam-joon/) > [My laboratory,' I said, experimentally, drawing out each syllable. 'Why is it that saying it like that always makes me want to follow it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/my-laboratory-i-said-experimentally-drawing-out-each-syllable-why-is/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Why do you seem so annoyed at what I'm saying?" "Because we're too much like each other. I loathe your face, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/why-do-you-seem-so-annoyed-at-what-i-m-saying-because-we-re-too-much/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“- Aunt Artie? - Why do you keep saying it like that? We loved each other more than anything. I can't imagine we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/aunt-artie-why-do-you-keep-saying-it-like-that-we-loved-each-other/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I have no interest in saying "This is who I am! This is what I'm like!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-kirkman/i-have-no-interest-in-saying-this-is-who-i-am-this-is-what-i-m-like/) [Jen Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-kirkman/) > [When people compliment me, I always think it's fake ... I don't know why, it's like they're only saying it because the like me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila/when-people-compliment-me-i-always-think-it-s-fake-i-don-t-know-why/) [Leila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila/) > [What's Shobhaa De's problem with me and my son? What does she mean by saying, 'Like father, like son?' Let the truth come out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditya-pancholi/what-s-shobhaa-de-s-problem-with-me-and-my-son-what-does-she-mean-by/) [Aditya Pancholi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditya-pancholi/) > [I know people are saying they like you. I'm not being insulted or pushed around or anything. People are coming up because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/i-know-people-are-saying-they-like-you-i-m-not-being-insulted-or/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [I think people have this stereotypical idea in their head of what a nerd is. People have said to me before, "You're not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/i-think-people-have-this-stereotypical-idea-in-their-head-of-what-a/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Nerd quotes > [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [“Adam could imagine what he looked like: a debauched nerd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullinan/adam-could-imagine-what-he-looked-like-a-debauched-nerd/) [Heidi Cullinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullinan/) > [Being a geek is extremely liberating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/being-a-geek-is-extremely-liberating/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [“You’re the witch, dude.  I’m the data geek. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debora-geary/you-re-the-witch-dude-i-m-the-data-geek/) [Debora Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debora-geary/) > [“I wasn’t a nerd, mind you, but I’d spent a lot of my youth studying Epics, so I’d had limited experience with social interaction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-wasn-t-a-nerd-mind-you-but-i-d-spent-a-lot-of-my-youth-studying/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Yeah, I'm a geek. I read sci-fi and I watch sci-fi films. I love my computer and I love to fix it. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [I used to work in a record store. I'm kind of a record nerd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/i-used-to-work-in-a-record-store-i-m-kind-of-a-record-nerd/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I am a geek. I am an otaku.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masi-oka/i-am-a-geek-i-am-an-otaku/) [Masi Oka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masi-oka/) > [I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-shopped-at-j-crew-in-high-school-i-studied-computer-science-i-was-a/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [I'm a nerd. Total geek. I never went to homecoming or prom or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-hayes/i-m-a-nerd-total-geek-i-never-went-to-homecoming-or-prom-or-anything/) [Hunter Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-hayes/) > [I was a super nerd in school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-bridges/i-was-a-super-nerd-in-school/) [Chloe Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-bridges/) > [Any nerd who grew up around the time that I did, BBC programming was a treasure chest for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/any-nerd-who-grew-up-around-the-time-that-i-did-bbc-programming-was-a/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [I loved the idea of the Nerd as Hero, which Ghost World also had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/illeana-douglas/i-loved-the-idea-of-the-nerd-as-hero-which-ghost-world-also-had/) [Illeana Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/illeana-douglas/) > [At the age of 11 I was about 6 ft. tall and my voice had completely broken. That caused problems. I was this gangly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-stevens/at-the-age-of-11-i-was-about-6-ft-tall-and-my-voice-had-completely/) [Dan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-stevens/) [Browse all 919 Nerd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hank, when people call people nerds mostly what they're saying is,'You like stuff'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostly-what-they-re-saying-is-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nerd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostly-what-they-re-saying-is-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/john-green-12_nerd_hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostl_782899.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/john-green-12_nerd_hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostl_782899.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/john-green-12_nerd_hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostl_782899.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hank, when people call people nerds mostly what they're saying is,'You like stuff'.” — John Green", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hank, when people call people nerds...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostly-what-they-re-saying-is-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/hank-when-people-call-people-nerds-mostly-what-they-re-saying-is-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```