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Difference between 家(home) and 家里(home) bcs both also means the same.

Another question is, difference between 家人 and 家里人 bcs both means family members.

Does it 100% means the same? I have search everywhere but still couldn't find the difference. Would be really grateful if you guys can help me out. Thanks!!!

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  • see e.g. bkrs: ,home family (polite) my (sister, uncle etc) classifier for families or businesses refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China noun suffix for a specialist in some activity, such as a musician or revolutionary, corresponding to English -ist, -er, -ary or -ian 家里 1) p.w. home; family 2) n. humb. (my) wife 家人 (1) [one's family members]∶家庭成员 家人团聚 (2) [servant]∶旧称仆人 (3) [common people]∶指平民 家里人 family member, husband/wife about wife/husband
    – user6065
    Feb 28, 2018 at 20:43

4 Answers 4

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家 means the family or the place the family lives, so we say 回家 (going home), 我家 (my home).

To me, as a native speaker, 家里 seems nearly the same as 家里人. Like I would say 我得跟家里说一声这事 (I have to tell my family about this), or 我家里都知道了 (My family has known), or 我家里人很支持我 (My family is very supportive to me). You see here 家里 and 家里人 both mean the people in a family.

I have to mention that I am not 100% sure about the nuance between 家里 and 家里人, with respect to the meaning "a group of family members". Of course when meaning something else, you should be able to distinguish them, like you should say 在家里 (at home) rather than 在家里人。

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  • What i mean was...difference between 家(home) and 家里(home) bcs both also means home. Another question is, difference between 家人 and 家里人 bcs both means family members. Can you explain??🙂
    – Kayra
    Feb 28, 2018 at 22:10
  • I'd say "家里人" is a colloquial version of “家人." In casual conversations using "家人" might sound too formal so ”家里人" is more commonly used. e.g. "我家里人不让我买电脑" vs. “我家人不让我买电脑". Both are grammatically correct. The latter sounds more formal (therefore doesn't really appear in casual conversations as often).
    – Ben Yang
    Feb 28, 2018 at 23:57
  • @Kayra Oops sorry. Other people have posted good answers. I'd like to add that, sometimes in oral language we say 家里已经没有吃的了 (There's no food left at home.) but not 家已经没有吃的了。But if you add possessive pronouns, both 我们家已经没有吃的了 and 我们家里已经没有吃的了 are correct.
    – pjhades
    Mar 1, 2018 at 0:26
  • Thank youu for your great explanations @Ben Yang and @PJ.Hades...谢谢你们💐💐
    – Kayra
    Mar 3, 2018 at 10:43
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家 = home

家人 = family; family members (See Different terms for 'family' and 'family member')

家里 = 1. in my home (example: "他家里没有养宠物" ="there's no pet in his house") 2. in the family (example: "我家里有父母和两个姐妹" = "In my home, I have parents and two sisters" or " I have parents and two sisters in my family )

家里人 = people in my home = family; family members

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In colloquial context, 家 is short for 家里. For example, 我家(里)有人。我家(里)养狗了。I can't think of a case where you can only use 家里, instead of 家. However, you can't replace 家 with 家里 in some context. For example, 我想有个家。

As for 家人 vs 家里人, they are pretty much the same in meaning. The nuance is 家人 is treated as a common set phrase for family members, while 家里人 sounds more folksy and affable.

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  • Ok..谢谢你 for sharing @dan🌹
    – Kayra
    Mar 3, 2018 at 10:47
  • @Kayra you are very welcome! Hope it would help a bit!
    – dan
    Mar 3, 2018 at 11:47
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1.家和家里意思是不同,家是指home, 家里通常是at home,一个突出是名词概念,一个是方位的概念。 2.家人和家里人意思要相近,都是指的家庭成员。

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