
Originally Posted by
Throbert McGee
The noun дом can often be translated "house; home", but in some contexts it can mean simply "a building." So if you said Я иду в дом (with дом in the accusative) it would generally be understood to mean "I'm going into the building." But Я иду домой has the clear meaning "I'm going home; I'm going to my own house" (not into some other building, and not into someone else's home). The same basic distinction applies to the adverb дома ("at home, in one's own house") versus the prepositional/locative phrase в доме ("inside a building").