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Here is a quote taken from the Genki 1 textbook, it is one of the expression
notes _(page 141)_ :

> 遊ぶ means "to play," "to spend time pleasantly" or **"to pay a social
> call."**
>
> **私のうち** に遊びに来てください。 Please come and see **us**.

In the textbook "うち" isn't written using kanji and I can't tell which うち it is
referring to (内 or 家). If it is "家" (which I'm guessing it is), then does that
mean "私のうち" means "my household" which then kind of means "us"?

Thanks.
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2020-05-12T16:08:12.363
77247
2020-05-13T06:52:15.050
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question
kanji expressions particle-の
私のうち Usage & Meaning
Yes, this うち is 家 in kanji. However, 家 can also be read いえ, so people often
write うち in hiragana.

See also: [What is the difference between いえ and
うち?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3726/5010)
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2020-05-13T03:33:16.040
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2020-05-13T03:33:16.040
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The translation "Please come and see us" for "私のうちに遊びに来てください" seems to me
inadequate and misleading, especially in a textbook.

"私のうち" means "my house(hold)", not "us", and thus "私のうちに遊びに来てください" is much
closer to "Please come to my house to hang out" (though perhaps less natural
as an English sentence, I'm not quite sure).

But apparently in the unexplained and unknowable context of the particular
utterance of "私のうちに遊びに来てください" in the textbook example, according to the
translation provided the speaker thinks (that the listener knows) that coming
to their house entails seeing "us", whoever else that refers to besides the
speaker themselves, and these implications are what they decided to express in
the translation, not the words actually said!

They could as well (or as badly?) have given "Please come and see **me** " as
the translation, if they'd had a different arbitrary-chosen context in mind
for the sentence.

I do think "Please come to my house to hang out" would have been kinder and
more helpful, if not over all better, translation.
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2020-05-13T06:52:15.050
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answer