ここ (“ko-ko”; “Here”)

そこ (“so-ko”; “There”)

あそこ (“a-so-ko”; “Over there”)

どこ (“do-ko”; “Where”)

Here are a new batch of words that refer to locations. You’ll notice the similarities between these and the demonstratives we just learned the last few days. Using this pattern really helps you understand distances from participants in a conversation as well as question words. In the next few days, we’ll explain more about how to use these words, but for now, some example sentences:

A: 「モールはどこですか？」(“mou-ru wa do-ko de-su ka?”; “Where is the mall?”)

B: 「あそこです。」(“a-so-ko de-su.”; “Over there.”)

This one is really fun to say:

「ここはどこ？」(“ko-ko wa do-ko?”; “Where are we/what place is this?”)

Try these out!

PRACTICE: Use the words above and make your own location-based sentences.

この (“ko-no”; “This~”)

その (“so-no”; “That~”)

あの (“a-no”; “That (over there)~”)

どの (“do-no”; “Which~”)

We just learned demonstrative pronouns (これ(ko-re)、それ(so-re)、あれ(a-re)、どれ(do-re)). Now it’s time to take a look at demonstrative adjectives. These words are very similar to the pronouns, except that they require a noun that they are describing to follow after. For instance, let’s go back to the ramen shop:

A:「 これは辛いですか？」(“ko-re wa ka-ra-i de-su ka?”; “Is this spicy?”)

Depending on the context of a conversation, これ(ko-re; “this”) can be too vague for the listener to determine what type of thing exactly the speaker is talking about. By changing it to:

A:「 このラーメンは辛いですか？」(“ko-no raa-men wa ka-ra-i de-su ka?”; “Is this ramen spicy?”)

it is now clear that A is talking about the ramen that is right in front of him. Continued:

B:「 はい、そのラーメンは辛いです。」(“ha-i, so-no raa-men wa ka-ra-i de-su.”; “Yes, that ramen is spicy”)

A:「あのラーメンは？」(“a-no raa-men wa?”; “How about that ramen over there (away from both speaker and listener)?”)

B:「 どのラーメン？」(“do-no raa-men?”; “Which ramen?”)

These adjectives are used in conjunction with nouns to help clarify context. The noun lets the listener know what type of thing the speaker is referring to, and these adjectives let the listener know the distance away from the speaker they are.

PRACTICE: Replace the これ、それ、あれ、どれ from yesterday’s conversation you wrote and replace them with この~noun、その~noun、あの~noun、どの~noun.

どれ (“do-re”; “Which one”)

Today’s word is:

どれ(do-re)

This word is used when the topic of conversation involves multiple items, but you don’t know which item is being referred to.

Once again- to the ramen conversation!:

A:「 これは辛いですか？」(“ko-re wa ka-ra-i de-su ka?”; “Is this spicy?”)

B:「 はい、それは辛いです。」(“ha-i, so-re wa ka-ra-i de-su.”; “Yes, that is spicy”)

A:「あれは？」(“a-re wa?”; “How about that ramen over there (away from both speaker and listener)?”)

B:「どれ？」(“do-re?”; “Which one?”)

Because A is asking about a bowl of ramen far away, and there may be multiple bowls of ramen at the surrounding tables, B cannot be sure which one A is talking about.

PRACTICE: Create a small dialog between two people using これ、それ、あれ、and どれ.

あれ (“a-re”; “That (over there)”)

Japanese differs from English when using demonstrative pronouns (“this”, “that”) in that there is a separate word to refer to an object that is away from both the speaker and the listener (just like Spanish, as mentioned previously).

あれ(a-re)

Let’s add onto our ramen conversation:

A:「 これは辛いですか？」(“ko-re wa ka-ra-i de-su ka?”; “Is this spicy?”)

B:「 はい、それは辛いです。」(“ha-i, so-re wa ka-ra-i de-su.”; “Yes, that is spicy”)

A:「あれは？」(“a-re wa?”; “How about that ramen over there (away from both speaker and listener)?”)

It takes some getting used to, but these words are great for helping understand the context of a sentence in fewer words that it would take in English to say the same thing. Tomorrow, we’re going to have a special word of a similar nature. Keep studying!

PRACTICE: Create a small dialog between two people using これ、それ、and あれ.

それ (“so-re”; “That”)

When referring to an object that is closer to the listener, you would say:

それ(so-re)

Let’s modify the ramen conversation from yesterday’s post:

A:「 これは辛いですか？」(“ko-re wa ka-ra-i de-su ka?”; “Is this spicy?”)

B:「 はい、それは辛いです。」(“ha-i, so-re wa ka-ra-i de-su”; “Yes, that is spicy”)

Until tomorrow, where we will learn how to say “that over there”.

PRACTICE: Create a small dialog between two people where one uses これ  and the other uses それ to refer to the same object.

 これ (“ko-re”; “This”)

When referring to objects ambiguously, in English, we just say “this” for objects close to the speaker, and “that” for objects away from the speaker. Japanese, however, has three: “this” (close to the speaker), “that” (close to the listener), and “that over there” (away from both the speaker and the listener). For those of you that speak or have studied Spanish, you will notice that Spanish has the same thing (“este”, “ese” “aquel”). For today, let’s focus on “this”.

これ(ko-re)

If your friend just put a bowl of ramen in front of you, and you wanted to ask if it was spicy or not, you could ask:

A:「 これは辛いですか？」(“ko-re wa ka-ra-i de-su ka?”; “Is this spicy?”)

辛い[からい](ka-ra-i) – spicy

B:「 はい、辛いです。」(“ha-i, ka-ra-i de-su”; “Yes, it is spicy”)

Tomorrow, we will take a look at how to say “that”.

PRACTICE: Use これ in an example sentence to refer to something near you.