Must be regional because here hogar is home, nothing related to fireplaces. Considering I’m from the Caribbean, it makes sense the “fireplace, hearth” connotation is not used at all. And now I wonder if the fireplace meaning is used in regions outside of Spain (say areas of South America and Mexico where it get colds enough to use them).
Going from when I was being taught English (20-something years ago), the translations we were given were hogar= home and casa= house. It is simplistic, but since for my region, the “fireplace” meaning is not used, it makes sense. I can see now how someone learning Spanish as an adult may have a confusion, though.
Hogar is used less commonly than casa, granted. But it is not a completely uncommon word to hear. It is also sometimes used in the news, articles, and reports. Not to mention the related hogar/home meanings (hogar de ancianos= hospice, salón hogar= homeroom). OTOH, I also tend to use the word home less often than house (in English). Based in Spanish dictionary meanings, numbers 2, 3, 4 are the ones commonly used in my region.
What I wanted to point out is that yes, Spanish has a way to make a distinction, just like house and home, in the terms casa and hogar. That they’re not used as frequently as the English counterparts is possible, that it does not exist is false.
I just want to point out that it is totally KarlGrenze’s fault I’ve had El Almendro’s jingle as an earworm for several hours, and if my coworkers kill me for humming Christmas ads it will totally be her fault.
… vuelve, a casa vueeeeelve, vuelve a tu hogar, que hoy es Nochebuena y mañana Navidad, vuelve, a casa vueeelveee, por Navidad.
(Go back, go back home, go back to your home, today it’s Christmas Eve and tomorrow Christmas, go back, go back home for Christmas)
And now I wonder if the fireplace meaning is used in regions outside of Spain (say areas of South America and Mexico where it get colds enough to use them).