По дороге домой я забегу в аптеку.

On the way home, I’ll stop by the pharmacy.

Breakdown of По дороге домой я забегу в аптеку.

• я: I
• в: to
• домой: home
• по: on

Questions & Answers about По дороге домой я забегу в аптеку.

What does по дороге домой literally mean?

Literally, it is something like along the road home or on the way home.

• по дороге = on the way / along the road
• домой = homeward / to home

As a whole, по дороге домой is a very natural Russian way to say on the way home.

Why is it по дороге, not по дорога?

Because the preposition по here requires the dative case.

• dictionary form: дорога = road, way
• dative singular: дороге

So:

• по дороге = along the road / on the way

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• по пути = on the way
• по улице = along the street
• по дороге домой = on the way home

Why is it домой, not дома?