What term refers to the giving of human qualities to non-human things?

The term for giving human qualities to non-human things is personification.

Personification is a literary device that presents an object, animal, place, natural force, or abstract idea as having human traits. A writer might say that “the wind whispered,” “justice holds a scale,” or “the old house groaned.” These expressions make an idea or scene more vivid by allowing readers to imagine it as a person.

The device has deep roots in mythology, religion, poetry, and visual art. Ancient Greek and Roman traditions personified concepts such as victory, love, death, and the seasons through human-shaped gods and figures. Personification also appears frequently in fables, where animals speak and behave like people.

A common mix-up is anthropomorphism, which is the broader attribution of human characteristics to non-human entities, especially animals or fictional characters. Personification usually refers specifically to a literary or artistic technique. Metaphor can be involved, but not every metaphor gives something human qualities. “Time is a thief” is a metaphor that also personifies time; “her voice was velvet” is a metaphor without personification.