いえ
ieeveryday
To say "house" in hiragana you use いえ (ie). In casual talk うち (uchi) also means a house or home, and じゅうたく (jūtaku) is a formal word for housing.
Meaning: house or building to live in (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| いえ | ie | everyday |
| うち | uchi | casual |
| じゅうたく | jūtaku | formal, housing |
A detached house is いっこだて (ikkodate), while an apartment is アパート (apāto).
Which one should you use?
For the building itself people say いえ (ie). じゅうたく (jūtaku) appears in real estate and official use, as in じゅうたくがい (jūtakugai), a residential area.
How does it change in a sentence?
To count houses, use the counter けん (ken): いっけん (ikken) is one house and にけん (niken) is two.
Did you know?
- In Japan houses are traditionally counted with the counter けん (ken), and a house is also called おたく (otaku) when you politely mean another person's home.
Examples in context
- おおきな いえに すんでいます。Ōkina ie ni sunde imasu.I live in a big house.
- あの あかい いえは ともだちの うちです。Ano akai ie wa tomodachi no uchi desu.That red house is my friend's.
- あたらしい いえを たてる。Atarashii ie o tateru.We are building a new house.
Example conversation
Mr. Ono and Mrs. Sato chat on the street in a quiet neighborhood.
- Mrs. Satoあたらしい いえですね。Atarashii ie desu ne.It is a new house.
- Mr. Onoはい、さきげつ ひっこしました。Hai, sengetsu hikkoshimashita.Yes, we moved last month.
- Mrs. Satoいい いえですね。Ii ie desu ne.A nice house.
