UCHI and IE

[scarynight]

I knwo that both uchi and ie mean house but can someone give me an exhaustive explanation as to te difference of usage between the two words

[chikara]

TJP e youkoso

I don't know about an exhaustive explanation but my understanding is that uchi (うち) doesn't mean any house but a person's house or home and/or family. If you are referring to your own house then that is just another way of saying home. On the other hand ie (いえ) refers only (usually?) to a house, that is, a building whose main purpose is to house people, a dwelling.

Maybe a native speaker could give you a better and/or exhaustive explanation.

[NileCat]

Chikara, your explanation is exquisite.
There might be few exceptions (mainly due to the dialectism), but your explanation sounds exhaustive enough on standard Japanese.

[scarynight]

Thank you very much Chikara, that was clear enough for me

[AJBryant]

It may be over simplistic, but they aren't unlike the English pairing of "home" and "house." One is a building. The other is very much more.

[two_heads_talking]

It may be over simplistic, but they aren't unlike the English pairing of "home" and "house." One is a building. The other is very much more.

Good analogy. home is to uchi as house is to ie. besides, IE no yatsu just doesn't sound right..