sofa vs couch

[hirashin]

Hello, native English speakers,
Is there a difference between a sofa and a couch?
I know you don't say "sofa potato" instead of "couch potato".

Hirashin

 

[Lothor]

Hello, native English speakers,
Is there a difference between a sofa and a couch?
I know you don't say "sofa potato" instead of "couch potato".

Hirashin

You've got sofas on your mind at the moment, your last thread involved a sofa!

Google

You're right, you don't say 'sofa potato', no special reason for it, it's just how it is. Like saying
白黒　in Japanese rather than 黒白. By the way, 'sofa' is much more common in British English.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks, Lothor.

 

[mdchachi]

As the link says, the terms are interchangeable these days. I think it's matter of preference or perhaps regional differences as to which is used. I think I use couch 99% of the time. But I wouldn't be surprised to hear somebody say sofa.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for the useful informaton, mdchachi.

 

[EnglishTutor]

I agree with Lothor. I think couch has gradually become accepted in British English. You're right we certainly would not say 'sofa potato' unless we were playing with words / having fun with the language! Some people like to take a set phrase / idiom and either shorten it - Too many cooks! or change the ending to something else. However you need to know the language and your audience well to do this! So it comes with a health warning!
If I can be of any more help let me know please hirashin.

 

[Contopeas]

I'm native English speaker and I didn't know the difference