Ka'ekala does not have grammatical gender, but it does distinguish three different categories of animacy which affect grammar and vocabulary; these categories are commonly termed "sentient", "animate", and "inanimate".

Sentient nouns refer to people, or to people-like beings such as gods and spirits. Nouns referring to bodies of people are classified as sentient ("committee", "company", "congregation", "government", "crowd", "audience", "army"). The sun and moon are also classified as sentient nouns due to traditional Ka'ekala mythology.

Animate nouns are those referring to things, primarily living, that move. All animals are in this category, as well as vehicles, fire, water and any other liquids, bodies of water, wind, rain, snow, clouds, stars, the heart, and the lungs (but no other body part or organ). Any device or machine that moves, or has parts that move, without being directly moved by a person will also be an animate noun (examples include clocks, electric drills, typewriters, washing machines, or pinwheels, but not e.g. levers or scissors, because these do not have any parts that move without direct human contact; however, by extension, digital clocks and watches are classified as animate even though other types of digital displays are not). Units of time (hour, minute, year) are also classified as animate.

All other objects and concepts are classed as inanimate nouns. This includes plants and corpses, even though these are or were alive. It includes verbal nouns, geographic terms and place names, and abstract concepts. Nouns that are normally inanimate may be "converted" to sentient for e.g. poetic effect: "Fate smiles upon us today".