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How would [name]家, for example 田中家, be pronounced when referring to somebody's home in an informal or casual way? I think I've heard it pronounced ち but it could have been うち too. Perhaps both are acceptable?

I haven't found any note on this specific combination in my dictionaries, and I don't trust Google Translate's take on it (which just says か).

(There is also the け pronuncation as in 徳川慶喜家(とくがわよしのぶけ) but that seems to be a different matter, relating to family/lineage.)

Edit: To stress that I'm asking about casual usage, let's say somebody says 「ジャック家に行きたい」 on Facebook/Twitter/similar. What is the pronunciation of 「家」 in that sentence? Or if there may be several pronunciations, what is the most likely one chosen in a conversation among friends?

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    I think ち is only possible when the name ends in ん, so 〜ん+んち becomes 〜ん+ち.
    – user1478
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 14:31
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    @snailboat I thought that the んち thing was a contraction of のうち and could be used with any name, like 山田【やまだ】のうち → 山田んち, 川本【かわもと】のうち → 川本んち, etc. Is that not actually the case?
    – senshin
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 16:44
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    @senshin Right! But it can't contract further (dropping ん) unless the name ends in ん. That's what I was trying to say.
    – user1478
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 17:02
  • @snailboat Oh, okay, gotcha! Makes sense.
    – senshin
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 17:03
  • +1 just for not trusting Google translate and posting your question here.
    – Earthliŋ
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 20:26

1 Answer 1

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「田中家」 is pronounced as 「たなかけ (Tanaka-ke)」. Usually, this word is used to refer to a family whose last names are 田中 or a house where a 田中 family live in. (ref. http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/65854/m0u/)

While 「田中家 (Tanaka-ke)」 sounds formally, 「田中ん家 (Tanaka-n-chi)」 sounds informally and seems to refer a family or a house of a speakers friend.

A kanji word 「田中家」 is almost always pronounced as 「たなかけ」, but there are shops or restaurants whose name is 「田中家 (たなかや, Tanaka-ya)」, e.g. http://www.tanakaya1863.co.jp/. I cannot find other readings (and meanings) of 田中家 by Google.

「徳川慶喜家」 means a family line originating from 徳川慶喜. Just like this, in some context, 「田中家」 also means a family line of Mr. 田中.

Edit: On my experience in Japanese (30+ years), when I have a conversation among friends, I say 「ジャックん家に行きたい (じゃっくんちにいきたい)」.

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