Casa / Hogar... Differences ¿?
I (think I) know what the words 'casa' & 'hogar' mean on their own.
- Casa = house, i.e. the physical building made of bricks, hence 'casa por alquilar' = house to let...
- Hogar = home, i.e. the place, environment or concept of home, hence 'hogar' used to refer to merchandise for sale for the home, i.e. 'homeware': furniture, furnishings, crockery etc (?)...
However, I become less clear with the expressions 'a casa' & 'en casa', both of which I've heard & seem to refer to the notion of being (at) home, going home etc.
What is/are the difference(s) between 'a casa' & 'en casa' ? May I use 'hogar' instead of 'casa' in these contexts ?
What is/are the difference(s) between 'casa' & 'hogar' ?
Are all these words & expressions interchangeable ?
7 Answers
En casa=at home or back home. This extends to "back home" in Spain or whatever.
a casa. Voy a casa I'm going home.
La casa = the house
el hogar really means the "hearth" or the fireplace so it has that idea of home. El Hogar español speaks of the Spanish "home" family all the warm fuzziness, etc.
"en casa de" can be used this way. "Pasé la noche en casa de mi amiga Maite."
I spent the night at my friend Maite's place.
I tend to look at it like this. Casa is the physical thing that you live in. Hogar is more a conceptual thing that involves feeling of comfort and security. However, this is not ironclad.
La Paz currently has a slogan campaign going. La Paz es tu hogar......
I would say that, yes, "casa" and "hogar" are more or less interchangeables. "Casa" is much more common. And is "the physical thing that you live in". Hence you can say:
Se vende casa.
Se renta casa.
Voy a casa.
No está en casa...
Hogar comes from the low latin foc?ris, derivated from focus, fuego, or fire.
Literally 'hogar' means the place where the fire is lit at the stove, chimney or furnace: the fireplace. Hence the word went then to mean the place where a family lives in, because it was considered that the central point of the house was the fireplace.
Hogar, dulce hogar
Home sweet home
You don't see 'hogar' as much as 'casa', and only place I've seen hogar used is on an ironmongers ( of the oldfashioned sort that has everything under the sun). This shop is called'' Campo y Hogar. '' It's a very good shop!
Adverts also use hogar a lot, probably to make us more worried our homes are lacking in insurance or electrodomestics or whatever.
Buying things will make a house into a home, according to some advertisers.
Comprar cosas hará una casa en un hogar, de acuerdo con algunos anunciantes.
Chocar publicar hasta porque es interesante a todos
Tal vez puedes decir, El hogar es donde el corazón está.
