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🌏 Region(s): Kanto (Tokyo)

うち【家】

uchi

Definition

Noun, pronoun

  1. (As a general noun) Home; one's home; one's house; one's place
    1. うちごはんごはん・ご飯】
      uchi-gohan
      "Home food", "Home cooking"
  2. (By association) Family; one's family; we; our
    1. うちのいぬの犬】
      uchi no inu
      "The family dog", "Our dog"
  3. (In informal business discussions) One's business; one's company; our company; we
  4. (As a pronoun used by young girls, usually written in kana) I; me; my
    1. うちはいくうちは行く】
      uchi wa iku
      (Female) "I'm going", "I'll be going"

Etymology

The use of うち【家】 uchi as a general first-person pronoun by young girls in Tokyo and, more generally, the Kanto region, can be attributed to influence from Kansai dialects. This usage has become increasingly popular since the late 1990s.

Notes

In contrast, the term いえ【家】 ie, though spelled with the same Kanji, refers more generally to a "house" as opposed to one's own home.

Spelling

OrthographyForm
Kanji
Kanaうち
Romanizationuchi

意味:うち【家】、じぶんのかぞく【自分の家族】、わが【我が・吾が】、わがしゃ【我が社・我社・わが社】、わたし【私】

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Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2014, May 12). うち【家】 : uchi | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, January 9, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/1650/uchi/.