こ・そ・あ・ど — これ・この・ここ・こちら

What You Will Learn in This Unit

In this unit, you will learn how to choose words beginning with こ, そ, or あ depending on where the target is located relative to the speaker and the listener. You will be able to use これ・それ・あれ・どれ for things, この・その・あの・どの placed before nouns, ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ for places, and こちら as a polite way of pointing. You will also make questions and answers using these words.

Three Series by Distance and the Question Series

Japanese demonstratives are divided into four series: こ, そ, あ, and ど. The こ series refers to a target near the speaker, and the そ series refers to a target near the listener. The あ series refers to a target far from both the speaker and the listener. The ど series is used to ask what or where something is when the speaker does not know. For example, for the same book, use これ if it is in the speaker's hand, それ if it is in the listener's hand, and あれ if it is far from both of them. The basis for distance is not the type of object but the positional relationship among the two people and the target.

これ・それ・あれ・どれ for Things

これ, それ, and あれ are words that stand in place of a single noun. They are used without a following noun and by themselves mean 'this one', 'that one (near you)', and 'that one over there'. These words go in the first position of the ○○は ○○です pattern you learned in Unit 14. When これは is placed at the beginning of a sentence, it becomes a sentence meaning 'This is ~', and the noun that follows explains what it is. どれ is a word for asking which one among several items is meant, and the answer is one of これ, それ, or あれ.

この・その・あの・どの Before Nouns

この, その, あの, and どの are words that must always be followed by a noun. They are used together with a noun as one unit, such as この本, and unlike これ they cannot stand alone as the subject of a sentence. If you use この alone without a noun, the meaning is incomplete. In this unit, we only cover the form used before a noun. The particle の, which connects one noun to another, is covered in Unit 17. When referring to a person, attach 人(ひと) after the word, as in この人, その人, and あの人.

ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ for Places and こちら

ここ, そこ, and あそこ are words that refer to places, and どこ is a word for asking about a place. こちら is the polite form of ここ, and when introducing a person it sounds more respectful than この人. For this reason, こちら can be used for both places and people, and when referring to a person it is not followed by a noun. そちら, あちら, and どちら are the polite forms of the そ, あ, and ど series.