This and that
reference — free to readEnglish points with two words and Japanese points with three, because そ belongs to the person you are talking to. The thing in your hand is これ, the same thing in theirs is それ, and on a shelf across the room it is あれ. ど asks which.
The four distances
Learn these once and they hold for every word on this page — the first character tells you where the thing is.
All twelve at once
Read it across, not down. Each row is a different shape of word, and a row is not a set of synonyms for the row above it — これ and この do different jobs.
| Shape | こ Near me | そ Near you | あ Away from us both | ど Which? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The thing itself | これ kore this one | それ sore that one | あれ are that one over there | どれ dore which one |
| Which one of them | この kono this ― | その sono that ― | あの ano that ― over there | どの dono which ― |
| Places | ここ koko here | そこ soko there | あそこ asoko over there | どこ doko where |
これ・それ・あれ・どれ
The thing itself — Stands on its own and means the object. It is the whole subject or object of the sentence, so a particle goes straight onto it.
Never put a noun after it. これ本 is not a sentence — that is この本.
The one I am holding, or the one right here beside me.
The one by you. Also whatever you have just this moment said.
Away from us both and in sight — or a thing we both remember.
Picks one out of three or more. Out of exactly two it is どちら.
Things only. Pointing これ at a person is rude; for people it is この人 or, politely, こちら.
この・その・あの・どの ＋ noun
Which one of them — Attaches to a noun and says which one you mean. The noun does the naming; this only narrows it down.
Always followed by its noun, with nothing in between. The particle goes after the noun — この本は, never ×このは.
この本 — the book here, the one I am pointing at.
その本 — the book by you, or the book you just mentioned.
あの本 — the one across the room, or the one we both know.
どの本 — which book, out of the ones in front of us.
This is the shape that works on people. あの人 is fine where あれ would be an insult.
ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ
Places — Where rather than what. These are ordinary nouns and take the ordinary particles — に for where something is, で for where something happens, まで for as far as.
あそこ is the irregular one. Every other あ word is あ plus the ending; this one is あそこ, not ×あこ.
Where I am standing.
Where you are — or the place we have just reached in the telling.
Away from us both. Note the extra そ.
The question. どこですか is the most useful sentence in the language.
They point at moments as well as at rooms: ここまで is “this far” in a lesson, そこで is “at that point” in a story.
The ones that get mixed up
Two of these are the sentences beginners write most often, and both are wrong in the same way — the right word in the wrong shape.
これ or この
Look at what comes next. A noun follows — この. Nothing follows, or a particle does — これ. They are not two spellings of one word.
これは かさです。
×これ かさです。
This is an umbrella.
この かさは あたらしいです。
×これ かさは あたらしいです。
This umbrella is new.
これを ください。
×この ください。
I'll take this one, please.
それ or あれ, with nothing in the room
Once the thing is out of sight the distance stops being physical. あ is what we both know. そ is what only one of us does — usually the thing the other person has just brought up.
あの みせ、よかったですね。
That shop was good, wasn't it. (we both went)
それは しりませんでした。
I didn't know that. (about what you have just told me)
どれ or どの
The same question in two shapes. どれ stands alone; どの has to hold a noun. And out of exactly two things, neither is right — that is どちら.
どれが いいですか。
×どのが いいですか。
Which one would you like?
どの いろが いいですか。
×どれ いろが いいですか。
Which colour would you like?