<p>房屋 (house)is a kind of 建築物 (building), but a 建築物 is not necessary a house. A lighthouse or belltower is a building too</p>
<ul>
<li><p>房屋 (house) is for humans to live in (because it has rooms) it can be very small (hut size) or very big  (mansion size)</p>
</li>
<li><p>屋子 (house/ hut) can be a house for humans (like a cabin) or a hut for other usages, for example, 儲存庫 (repository)</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>屋子 is a kind of building, but not any building can be called 屋子. At least we don't call 摩天大廈 (skyscraper) or 圖書館 (library) as 屋子</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-28T03:41:52.267Z
So, it would be a mistake to use 屋子 to describe, say, a gym?
Daniel Walker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-28T03:46:29.687Z
屋子 is a house size or hut size building, it can be used as a gym, but it would  be a very small gym (personal gym?), We usually call  a  public gym 建身中心
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-28T03:26:08.710Z
2022-05-28T03:39:03.853Z
2022-05-28T03:39:03.853Z
Tang Ho
<p>&quot;屋子 = 房子&quot;, both are the informal form of 房屋/房舎, which means &quot;house&quot; in English, and usually is entirely used for single household occupation. On the other hand, &quot;building&quot; refers to &quot;建筑物&quot; - a constructed matter(housing), which can be used for many purposes including multi-unit residences, but it is incorrect to call a building &quot;the house - 屋子/房子/房屋/房舎.</p>
<p>However, 屋子 and 房子 are often used to a (specific) house with the prepositions 裡/內/外/邊 to indicate the location/position of things with respect to the house, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>那賊人躲在屋子(房子)裡(內)久久不露面. The thief hiding inside the house and has not shown his face for a long time.</p>
</li>
<li><p>因為屋子(房子)外面熙熙壤壤,人來人往, Because there are too many people outside of the house,</p>
</li>
<li><p>而且屋子(房子)旁邊就是警局 = 屋子(房子)邊上就是警局. and, there is the police station by the side of the house.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>屋子 can also refer to 室內 or 房間, such as &quot;這屋子很髒(亂)&quot; - the room is dirty and out of order, for which, 房子/房屋/房舎 does not carry the same meaning.</p>
<p>Note, in Taiwan/Fujian, the regional dialect calls the house &quot;厝&quot;, which is a regional thing.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-28T13:14:52.477Z
2022-05-28T17:15:08.013Z
2022-05-28T17:15:08.013Z
r13
<p>I'm currently working through Rosetta Stone and it's showing me various pictures of generic buildings (e.g., gym, doctor's office) and describing them as 屋子.  However, both my wife (who is Taiwanese, if it matters) as well as an online dictionary give the definition of 屋子 as, specifically, &quot;house&quot;.  I asked my wife if it could be used, in general, for a building and she wasn't aware of any such usage.</p>
<p>Is this a regional thing?</p>

<meaning>
屋子 - House or building?
# 屋子 - House or building?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-28)

I'm currently working through Rosetta Stone and it's showing me various pictures of generic buildings (e.g., gym, doctor's office) and describing them as 屋子. However, both my wife (who is Taiwanese, if it matters) as well as an online dictionary give the definition of 屋子 as, specifically, "house". I asked my wife if it could be used, in general, for a building and she wasn't aware of any such usage.

Is this a regional thing?

**Tags:** meaning


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-05-28. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

房屋 (house)is a kind of 建築物 (building), but a 建築物 is not necessary a house. A lighthouse or belltower is a building too

* 房屋 (house) is for humans to live in (because it has rooms) it can be very small (hut size) or very big (mansion size)
* 屋子 (house/ hut) can be a house for humans (like a cabin) or a hut for other usages, for example, 儲存庫 (repository)

屋子 is a kind of building, but not any building can be called 屋子. At least we don't call 摩天大廈 (skyscraper) or 圖書館 (library) as 屋子

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So, it would be a mistake to use 屋子 to describe, say, a gym?  
> **username_1**: 屋子 is a house size or hut size building, it can be used as a gym, but it would  be a very small gym (personal gym?), We usually call  a  public gym 建身中心  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-05-28. Score: 0

"屋子 = 房子", both are the informal form of 房屋/房舎, which means "house" in English, and usually is entirely used for single household occupation. On the other hand, "building" refers to "建筑物" - a constructed matter(housing), which can be used for many purposes including multi-unit residences, but it is incorrect to call a building "the house - 屋子/房子/房屋/房舎.

However, 屋子 and 房子 are often used to a (specific) house with the prepositions 裡/內/外/邊 to indicate the location/position of things with respect to the house, such as:

* 那賊人躲在屋子(房子)裡(內)久久不露面. The thief hiding inside the house and has not shown his face for a long time.
* 因為屋子(房子)外面熙熙壤壤,人來人往, Because there are too many people outside of the house,
* 而且屋子(房子)旁邊就是警局 = 屋子(房子)邊上就是警局. and, there is the police station by the side of the house.

屋子 can also refer to 室內 or 房間, such as "這屋子很髒(亂)" - the room is dirty and out of order, for which, 房子/房屋/房舎 does not carry the same meaning.

Note, in Taiwan/Fujian, the regional dialect calls the house "厝", which is a regional thing.


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