Kore, Sore, Are in Japanese: Point at Anything, Near or Far

これ, それ, あれ: pointing words in Japanese

Distance is measured from the people talking. If you and I stand together, something near us both is これ, and something across the street is あれ.

Short answer: English has “this” and “that”; Japanese has three distances plus a question form. こ- words point to things near the speaker, そ- words to things near the listener, あ- words to things far from both, and ど- words ask “which?”. The same four beginnings build whole families: これ (this one), ここ (here), こんな (this kind of).

The whole system in one table

Learn the columns, and every row follows. Read across a row to hear the same pattern four times.

	ko- (near me)	so- (near you)	a- (over there)	do- (which?)
thing	これ	それ	あれ	どれ
+ noun	この	その	あの	どの
place	ここ	そこ	あそこ	どこ
direction, polite	こちら	そちら	あちら	どちら
manner	こう	そう	ああ	どう
kind	こんな	そんな	あんな	どんな

これ or この: alone or before a noun

これ, それ, あれ stand on their own as “this one”. この, その, あの must be followed by a noun, like English “this book”. You cannot say これ本.

これkorethis oneはwa(topic)何なんnanwhatですdesuisかka(question)

Kore wa nan desu ka.“What is this?”Why: これ stands alone: “this thing (near me)”.

それsorethat oneはwa(topic)お茶おちゃochateaですdesuis

Sore wa ocha desu.“That’s tea.”Why: The answer uses それ: the cup is near the listener now.

このkonothis本ほんhonbookはwa(topic)高いたかいtakaiexpensiveですdesuis

Kono hon wa takai desu.“This book is expensive.”Why: この needs a noun after it.

あのanothat人ひとhitopersonはwa(topic)誰だれdarewhoですdesuisかka(question)

Ano hito wa dare desu ka.“Who is that person over there?”Why: あの: far from both. Pointing at people with あれ alone would be rude; use あの人 or あの方.

Here, there and over there

ここ, そこ, あそこ, どこ name places. Note あそこ, which has an extra そ.

こちら: the polite way to point

こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら mean “this way, that way”, and are also the polite way to refer to places and people. Staff in shops and hotels use them constantly; a host introduces a guest with こちらは….

Showing the way

Introducing someone

Asking where, politely

Which of two

そう: agreeing and reacting

そう means “so, like that”, and is one of the most frequent words in conversation. It agrees, reacts and keeps a conversation going.

こんな, そんな, あんな: this kind of

The こんな row describes kind or degree. そんな often carries surprise or mild disagreement.

こんなkonnathis kind of家いえiehouseにniin住みたいすみたいsumitaiwant to live

Konna ie ni sumitai.“I’d like to live in a house like this.”Why: こんな + noun.

そんなsonnathat kind ofことkotothingないnaiisn’tよyo(telling you)

Sonna koto nai yo.“That’s not true!”Why: そんな: disagreeing gently.

あんなannathat kind of人ひとhitopersonにni(goal)なりたいnaritaiwant to become

Anna hito ni naritai.“I want to be someone like that.”Why: あんな: someone both people know of.

こう, そう, ああ: in this way

The こう row describes manner: like this, like that. そう is the one you will hear most, in そうです and そう思います.

Pointing within a text

In writing, こ- words point to what comes next or what the writer is discussing; そ- words point back to what was just said.

このkonothis問題もんだいmondaiproblemについてni tsuiteabout考えたいかんがえたいkangaetaiwant to think

Kono mondai ni tsuite kangaetai.“I want to consider this problem.”Why: こ-: the topic the writer is presenting.

そのsonothat結果けっかkekkaresult売り上げうりあげuriagesalesがga(subject)伸びたのびたnobitagrew

Sono kekka, uriage ga nobita.“As a result, sales grew.”Why: そ-: pointing back to what was just described.

Check yourself: こ, そ, あ or ど?

Pick the right word, then open the answer.

Near you(holding a pen) （　）は私のペンです。
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これ: near the speaker.
Near the listener(pointing at the listener’s bag) （　）は新しいですか。
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それ.
Far from both(a building far away) （　）は何ですか。
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あれ.
Which one?（　）がいいですか。
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どれ (of three or more).
Where?トイレは（　）ですか。
Show answer
どこ.

Pointing back in a conversation

In talk and writing, そ- words refer to something just mentioned that the listener might not know, and あ- words to something both people remember. Compare その店 (that shop you just mentioned) with あの店 (that shop, you know the one).

駅えきekistationのno’s前まえmaefrontにniat新しいあたらしいatarashiinew店みせmiseshopがga(subject)できましたdekimashitaopened

Eki no mae ni atarashii mise ga dekimashita. · “A new shop opened in front of the station.”New information: が.

そのsonothat店みせmiseshop何なんnanwhatのno’s店みせmiseshopですかdesu kais?

Sono mise, nan no mise desu ka. · “What kind of shop is it?”その: the shop you just told me about.

ラーメン屋ラーメンやrāmen-yaramen shopですdesuis

Rāmen-ya desu. · “A ramen place.”屋 after a noun means “shop selling…”.

ああāahあのanothat店みせmiseshopかka(realising)

Ā, ano mise ka. · “Oh, that place!”あの: now B remembers seeing it, so it is shared knowledge.