The English title could be just: HOME

In Hungarian there is a slight difference between being at home and being at home. First let’s see itthon and otthon.

itt = here
ott = there
hon = native land (OR home in this case)

Let’s imagine this situation. You’re at home and you’re talking to your friend over phone saying:

I’m not in the shop. I’m at home.
Nem a boltban vagyok . Itthon vagyok.

You say itthon because you’re in your own house/flat. You’re here in your home. Do I make myself clear? I hope so 🙂

I’m at home in two minutes.
Két perc múlva otthon vagyok.

You say otthon because you talk about your home as a place which is far away from you. You’re not there yet.

So the rule is: if you’re at home, you say itthon. If you’re not at home, you just talk about it, you say otthon.

By the way, the word hon is used in this compound word: homepage = honlap 🙂

And what about haza?

This word is a noun and an adverb in one. As a noun it means: native land. As an adverb it means home as towards home. You use it in this case:

Hazamegyek. – I’m going home.
Te is hazajössz? – Are you coming home, too?

And as an adverb used with a verb, it is a verbal prefix, so the rules are valid for haza, as well.

Hazamegy. – She’s going home.
Menj haza! – Go home.
Nem megyek haza. – I’m not going home.

Normally, you write it together with the verb. But it is separated from the verb when in negation and imperative mood.

Summary:

itthon = at home (I’m at home already)
otthon = at home (I talk about my home)
haza = home (I’m going home)

And let’s see some examples for using them as a noun:

Ez az én otthonom. – This is my home.
Ez az én hazám. – This is my native land.

So otthon as a noun is used when you say home as a noun in English!

AND!

ház = house > házam = my house
haza = native land > hazám = my native land.

Easy, isn’t it? 🙂