Skip to content

"household (people living together)" in seven languages

Meaninghousehold (people living together)

Spanish

hogar

/oˈgaɾ/

masc.inherited

Also simply 'home'.

French

foyer

/fwaje/

masc.inherited

Also 'hearth' and a theatre lobby; ménage is the statisticians' word.

Italian

famiglia

/faˈmiʎʎa/

fem.other source · Latin FAMILIAM 'household'

Officially nucleo familiare; focolare is only the hearth.

Portuguese

lar

/lah/

masc.other source · Latin LAREM 'household god, hearth'

In statistics Brazil also says domicílio.

Romanian

gospodărie

/ɡospodəˈrie/

fem.other source · gospodar 'master of the house', from Slavic

Catalan

llar

/ʎar/

fem.other source · Latin LAREM 'household god, hearth'

Feminine in Catalan, unlike Portuguese o lar.

English

household

/ˈhaʊshoʊld/

native English · house + hold (Middle English)

English → Italianhousehold (people living together)famigliaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: focus, fuel, foyer.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*FOCĀRIUM‘hearth (from FOCUS 'fireplace')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Spanish and French count households by the fire they share: hogar and foyer both come from FOCUS 'hearth' (Spanish lost the f, as usual). Italian just counts families.

English relatives: focus, fuel, foyer

Sound laws at work

Spanish initial F- becomes h- (silent)

Learn it

Practice the Home deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esLa mayoría de los hogares tiene coche.
  • frLa plupart des foyers ont une voiture.
  • itLa maggior parte delle famiglie ha un'auto.
  • ptA maioria dos lares tem carro.
  • roMajoritatea gospodăriilor au mașină.
  • caLa majoria de les llars tenen cotxe.
  • enMost households have a car.

More in Home

All Home words