A House and a Home in English and Russian
In English we can use two different words to speak about place where we live and both of them have the same meaning 'дом' in Russian. They are a house and a home.
If I understand it right, a house in English is just a building where family can live, but home is the place where you belong to.
If you want to describe a building you or someone else lives in, you use the word 'house'. For example, my house is beautiful and comfortable.
One more example I've learned here on iTalki, you use the word 'house' when you say about your visit to someone. I have been to my friends house for several days, for example.
When you return from work or school, or wherever else, you come back home, not house.
When you answer the question: "Where are you?" you say "I'm home", not "I'm in the house".
I think, everybody know the expression 'Home, sweet home'.
Am I right about the English meanings of the words 'house' and 'home'?
As I wrote above, In Russian we use the same word 'дом' to say about any building where people can live or about the place we are belong to.
We also use the word 'дом' in Russian when we write a postal address, whether it a house as a separate building or an apartment house, or a condominium.
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Corrections · 4
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Corrections in red. Stylistics in blue.
A House and a Home in English and Russian
In English we can use two different words to speak about the place where we live, and both of them have the same meaning as 'дом' in Russian. They are a house and a home.
If I understand it right/correctly, a house in English is just a building where a family can live, but a home is the place where you belong to.
If you want to describe a building you or someone else lives in, you use the word 'house'. For example, "my house is beautiful and comfortable." [1]
One more example I've learned here on iTalki: you use the word 'house' when you talk about/describe a visit you made to someone. "I have been at my friend's [2] house for several days," for example.
When you return from work or school, or wherever else, you come back home, not "back house".
When you answer the question: "Where are you?" you say "I'm home", not "I'm in the house".
I think, everybody knows the expression 'Home, sweet home'.
Am I right about the English meanings of the words 'house' and 'home'?
As I wrote above, in Russian we use the same word 'дом' to talk about any building where people can live, or about the place we are belong to.
We also use the word 'дом' in Russian when we write a postal address, whether it a house as a separate building, or an apartment house, or a condominium.
[1] Sometimes you can use one word or the other, and they would both be correct -- but they would have a slightly different meaning, and also a different "feel". Example: I visit you. I could say, "You have a beautiful house." That is correct English.... but it refers only to the building, and lacks warmth. But if I say, "You have a beautiful home," it not only sounds warmer, but also includes the furniture and furnishings [carpet, drapes, quilts, embroidered wall hangings, paintings on the wall, etc.].
[2] The house belongs to one friend: my friend's house. The house belongs to two or more friends: my friends' house.
In American English, when quoting someone use double quotation marks: " " Example: John said, "I think I'll read something."
If there is a quote within another quote, use single quotation marks around the "inner" quote: ' ' Example: Mary said, "John murmured 'I think I'll read something,' and then he began to read a magazine."
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Dominic, thank you for the comment! I think, I'll write my next entry about Russian houses and other kinds of buildings where people live.
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You're right. Although, I can only say that I am "at somebody's house" if it really is a *house* - that is, a building without communal parts. The building does not have to be completely separate to be a house (e.g. 'terraces' or 'таунхаусы' are not, but are still called *houses*), but basically, a building is a house if: 1) all of its floors/storeys belong to one person/family, and 2) its entrance is not shared with other 'homes'. I have a home. I'm at home now. But I do not have a house. My home is not a house, it's a flat. Houses are a British obsession. Owning them, in particular. This is really not a culture of large residential blocks, although obviously they exist here (I live in one). For example, 64% of the British own homes, and of those owners, 91% live in houses. Overall, about 80% of homes in the UK are actually houses. I'm curious how this compares to other anglophone cultures. I grew up in a house, but have lived my whole adult life in flats. I definitely agree with Neil that the words house and home feel different. Home is a more emotional word. If I said "I'm going home at 6", it's obvious that I'm going back to my flat. But I might occasionally use 'home' to mean my childhood town or region, as in, "I'm going/visiting home in September". This sounds stranger as I get older, though.
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