Japanese grammar · Beginner (A1)
Demonstratives: これ, それ, あれ, どれ
The こそあど system: words for this, that and which, for things, places, directions and kinds, with the polite こちら.
Ko, so, a, do
Japanese words for “this” and “that” come in sets of four, known as (kosoado) from their first sounds. Words starting with こ (ko) point to something near the speaker, そ (so) near the listener, あ (a) far from both, and ど (do) ask “which?”.
English has only “this” and “that”, so (sore) and (are) are both “that”: is the thing next to you, is the one over there, away from both of us. Once you know one row of the table, the others follow the same pattern.
| Used for | near me (ko-) | near you (so-) | over there (a-) | which? (do-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a thing, on its own | (kore) | (sore) | (are) | (dore) |
| before a noun | (kono) | (sono) | (ano) | (dono) |
| a place | (koko) | (soko) | (asoko) | (doko) |
| a direction; polite | (kochira) | (sochira) | (achira) | (dochira) |
| a direction; casual | (kotchi) | (sotchi) | (atchi) | (dotchi) |
| a kind, before a noun | (konna) | (sonna) | (anna) | (donna) |
| a way, how | (kō) | (sō) | (ā) | (dō) |
これ or この?
, , and stand on their own, like a noun: (kore o kudasai, I'll have this, please). , , and can't stand alone; they must come right before a noun: (kono kasa, this umbrella).
So “this is expensive” is (kore wa takai desu), but “this bag is expensive” is (kono kaban wa takai desu).
- これをください。Kore o kudasai.I'll have this, please.
- この傘はいくらですか。Kono kasa wa ikura desu ka.How much is this umbrella?
- あの人は誰ですか。Ano hito wa dare desu ka.Who is that person?
- どれがいいですか。Dore ga ii desu ka.Which one would you like?
Places: ここ, そこ, あそこ, どこ
(koko) is “here”, (soko) “there, near you”, (asoko) “over there” and (doko) “where”. Note the extra syllable in . Like other nouns, they take particles: (koko de machimasu, I'll wait here).
When you ask the way, ～はどこですか (… wa doko desu ka) is all you need, and the answer can be as short as (asoko desu, it's over there).
- すみません、駅はどこですか。Sumimasen, eki wa doko desu ka.Excuse me, where's the station?
- 銀行はあそこです。Ginkō wa asoko desu.The bank is over there.
- ここで待ちます。Koko de machimasu.I'll wait here.
Polite こちら and casual こっち
(kochira) and its set point to a direction or a side, and they are also the polite way to say “here”, “this one” and “this person”. Shop and hotel staff use them all the time: (kochira e dōzo, this way, please). When you introduce someone, say (kochira wa…, this is …).
(dochira) is the polite (doko), “where”, and also means “which of the two”. In casual speech the same words become , , , .
- こちらは同僚の鈴木さんです。Kochira wa dōryō no Suzuki-san desu.This is my colleague, Mr Suzuki.
- こちらへどうぞ。Kochira e dōzo.This way, please.
- ご出身はどちらですか。Goshusshin wa dochira desu ka.Where are you from?
- どっちがいい？Dotchi ga ii?Which one do you want?
そ and あ in conversation; こんな and そう
In conversation, そ words also point to something just mentioned, that only one of you knows about: (sono hanashi, that story you told me). あ words point to something both of you know and remember: (ano mise, that restaurant, you know the one).
, , and mean “this kind of”, “that kind of” and “what kind of”: (donna ongaku ga suki desu ka, what kind of music do you like?). (sō, so, like that) is everywhere in replies: (sō desu ne, that's right, let me see) and (sō desu ka, I see).
- あの店、おいしかったですね。Ano mise, oishikatta desu ne.That restaurant was good, wasn't it?
- どんな音楽が好きですか。Donna ongaku ga suki desu ka.What kind of music do you like?
- こんなかばんがほしいです。Konna kaban ga hoshii desu.I want a bag like this.
- そうですね。Sō desu ne.That's right. / Let me see.