Demonstratives are words that you use to point something out or indicate which one is being talked about. There are quite a few demonstratives in Japanese, but they all follow a similar pattern, starting with こ transcribed ko, そ transcribed so, あ transcribed a, or ど transcribed do:
| First hiragana | Use for… | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
こ transcribed ko + ... | near the speaker | これ transcribed kore | this |
そ transcribed so + ... | near the listener | それ transcribed sore | that (by you) |
あ transcribed a + ... | far from the conversation | あれ transcribed are | that (over there) |
ど transcribed do + ... | questions | どれ transcribed dore | which? |
Demonstrative words are very helpful, since they can help you narrow down which one you’re talking about. But be careful! Some of the Japanese rules might surprise you, for example, the form you use before a noun (e.g. “this house”) looks a little different from the form you use on its own!
| On its own | Before a noun | English |
|---|---|---|
これ transcribed kore | この transcribed kono | this |
それ transcribed sore | その transcribed sono | that (by you) |
あれ transcribed are | あの transcribed ano | that (over there) |
どれ transcribed dore | どの transcribed dono | which? |
In this article, we’ll introduce you to the Japanese demonstratives in the table above, and then discuss how to use some other demonstratives, including the equivalents of “here” and “there”, like ここ transcribed koko, そこ transcribed soko, あそこ transcribed asoko, and どこ transcribed doko.
Ready to learn how to use these super useful words? Let’s get started!
これ [kore] vs. それ [sore] vs. あれ [are]
The Japanese demonstrative pronouns これ transcribed kore, それ transcribed sore, あれ transcribed are and どれ transcribed dore are all used to point out a noun, like you might use “this” or “that” in English. As we mentioned above, these words are used without a following noun.
We saw above that the difference between これ transcribed kore, それ transcribed sore, and あれ transcribed are comes from where the noun is in relation to the people in the conversation. So the basic rule is:
| Japanese | English | Use for... |
|---|---|---|
これ transcribed kore | this | near the speaker |
それ transcribed sore | that (by you) | near the listener |
あれ transcribed are | that (over there) | far from the conversation |
Let’s visualize this by imagining a scene in a clothing store:
See if you can figure out which t-shirt is indicated by each person in each sentence.
- You:すみません、これはいくらですか。Transcription: Sumimasen, kore wa ikura desu ka.Translation: Excuse me, how much is this one?The t-shirt closest to you, the speaker, is shirt 1.Store Clerk:それは1,000円です。Transcription: Sore wa sen en desu.Translation: That one is 1,000 yen.Since the clerk is speaking now, they’ll talk about shirt 1 using それ.
- You:それはいくらですか。Transcription: Sore wa ikura desu ka.Translation: How much is that one?Now we’re talking about a shirt closer to the store clerk, so shirt 2.Store Clerk:これは1,500円です。Transcription: Kore wa sen gohyaku en desu.Translation: This one is 1,500 yen.Since shirt 2 is close to the store clerk, we they use これ when discussing it.
- You:あれはいくらですか。Transcription: Are wa ikura desu ka.Translation: How much is that one?Now we’re looking for a t-shirt that is far from both of you, so you’ll use あれ!Store Clerk:あれは700円です。Transcription: Are wa nanahyaku en desu.Translation: That one is 700 yen.
When to use この [kono], その [sono], and あの [ano]?
The Japanese demonstrative adjectives, この transcribed kono, その transcribed sono, and あの transcribed ano are used when words like “this,” or “that,” are used before a noun, to help you indicate one in particular. The distance rules, though, are the same as for the demonstrative pronouns we saw above!
| Japanese | English | Use for... |
|---|---|---|
この transcribed kono | this — | near the speaker |
その transcribed sono | that — (by you) | near the listener |
あの transcribed ano | that — (over there) | far from the conversation |
Let’s look at some examples:
Are there words for “these” and “those” in Japanese?
In Japanese, you can also use the words この transcribed kono, その transcribed sono, and あの transcribed ano to mean “these” or “those”: just use them before a plural noun!
| Japanese | Before a singular noun | Before a plural noun |
|---|---|---|
この transcribed kono | this — | those — |
その transcribed sono | that — (by you) | those — (by you) |
あの transcribed ano | that — (over there) | those — (over there) |
The demonstrative pronouns この transcribed kono, その transcribed sono, and あの transcribed ano do have special plural forms: これら transcribed korerameaning these, それら transcribed sorerameaning those, and あれら transcribed arerameaning those. However, they’re not often used in everyday speech.
How to ask a question with どれ [dore] or どの [dono]?
In Japanese, どれ transcribed dore and どの transcribed dono are both used to ask “which” questions. どれ transcribed dore is used if there is no following noun (e.g. “Which is cheaper?”) while どの transcribed dono is used when it’s followed by a noun (e.g. “Which book is cheaper?”)
| Japanese | English | Use for... |
|---|---|---|
どれ transcribed dore | which one? | questions |
どの transcribed dono | which — ? | questions |
Let’s look at how to structure the questions and answers themselves!
When the question starts with どれ [dore] or どの [dono]
When you start a question with どれ transcribed dore or どの transcribed dono, the questioned word will always be followed by the particle が transcribed ga. For example, in a bookshop, you might ask:
You’ll generally want to use が transcribed ga after the answer to the question as well, as in:
But if the answer is very simple, you may not need a particle.
When the question doesn’t start with どれ [dore] or どの [dono]
Sometimes, a “which one” question will actually start with a topic marked by the particle は transcribed wa, which is then followed by どれ transcribed dore or どの transcribed dono. For example, you might ask instead:
You can answer these kinds of questions by just replacing the question word with an appropriate demonstrative:
Or you might provide the sorts of answers we saw above:
How to say “here” and “there” in Japanese?
In Japanese, we use the words ここ transcribed koko, そこ transcribed soko, and あそこ transcribed asoko to point to places, like you might use “here” or “there” in English. If you want to ask “where?” or “what place?” you can use どこ transcribed doko.
| Japanese | English | Use for... |
|---|---|---|
ここ transcribed koko | here | near the speaker |
そこ transcribed soko | there (by you) | near the listener |
あそこ transcribed asoko | over there | far from the conversation |
どこ transcribed doko | where? | questions |
Let’s look at another scenario to practice using these demonstratives!
You and your colleague are in a room with three doors. You want to find the bathroom so you ask…
See if you can figure out, using the picture above, which door your colleague would be indicating with each possible answer:
What are some other demonstratives in Japanese?
Though the demonstratives above are the most common, there are some other demonstratives in Japanese as well. These all use the same こーそーあーど pattern we saw above. Let’s have a look!
こちら [kochira], そちら [sochira], あちら [achira], and どちら [dochira]
The demonstratives こちら transcribed kochira, そちら transcribed sochira, あちら transcribed achira and どちら transcribed dochira are considered very polite. You can use them to refer to a place, a direction, or a person.
| Japanese | Place | Direction* | Person |
|---|---|---|---|
こちら transcribed kochira | here | this way (to me) | this person |
そちら transcribed sochira | there (by you) | that way (to you) | that person (by you) |
あちら transcribed achira | over there | that way (away) | that person (over there) |
どちら transcribed dochira | where? | which way? | to whom? |
Let’s see some examples:
Referring to places or directions
トイレはこちらです。Transcription: Toire wa kochira desu.Translation: The bathroom is here.食堂はどちらですか。Transcription: Shokudō wa dochira desu ka.Translation: Where is the cafeteria?そちらに行かないでください。Transcription: Sochira ni ikanaide kudasai.Translation: Please don’t go that way.Referring to people politely
そちらはどなたですか。Transcription: Sochira wa donata desuka.Translation: Who is that person?こちらはジョンさんです。Transcription: Kochira wa Jon san desu.Translation: This is Jon.
こんな [konna], そんな [sonna], あんな [anna], and どんな [donna]
The demonstratives こんな transcribed konna, そんな transcribed sonna, あんな transcribed anna and どんな transcribed donna are used before a noun to refer to the kind of thing you’re talking about:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
こんな transcribed konna | this kind of — |
そんな transcribed sonna | that kind of — (like the one by you) |
あんな transcribed anna | that kind of — |
どんな transcribed donna | what kind of — ? |
For example, you caught a big fish, and say,
If you want to ask what kind of food the listener likes, you may ask,
こう [kō], そう [sō], ああ [ā] and どう [dō]
The demonstratives こう transcribed kō, そう transcribed sō, ああ transcribed ā and どう transcribed dō represent the manner in which something is done.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
こう transcribed kō | like this |
そう transcribed sō | like that (how you’re doing it) |
ああ transcribed ā | like that (how he/she is doing it) |
どう transcribed dō | how? |
For example, if I want to show someone how to write a particular kanji, I may write it on a piece of paper and show how it is written. As I write it, I would say,
If that person I’m talking about starts writing the kanji incorrectly, I might say,
Let’s say another person is writing the kanji correctly on the whiteboard, which is not close to either me or the listener. I would point at that kanji and say,
As you might have guessed, どう transcribed dō is a question word asking a manner in which an action is taken:
How to use Japanese demonstratives to talk about the past?
In Japanese, you can also use demonstratives to talk about a past time or situation, much like you might refer to “that day” or “that vacation” in English. To do this in Japanese, you’ll use either the そ transcribed so demonstratives and sometimes use the あ transcribed a demonstratives.
Usually you’ll use the そ transcribed so demonstratives are used when you are referring to a specific time, thing or place that is new information to the listener; the listener was not a witness to the past situation:
On the other hand, you’ll use the and the あ transcribed a demonstratives are used when the speaker and the listener share the same knowledge, usually because the listener was also there to experience the past situation:
To sum up
In this article, we looked at how to use a variety of Japanese demonstrative words. These are “pointing” words that help you pick out which thing, time, person, place, etc. you’re referring to.
The most important thing to remember is this basic table:
| First hiragana | Use for… | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
こ transcribed ko + ... | near the speaker | これ transcribed kore | this |
そ transcribed so + ... | near the listener | それ transcribed sore | that (by you) |
あ transcribed a + ... | far from the conversation | あれ transcribed are | that (over there) |
ど transcribed do + ... | questions | どれ transcribed dore | which? |
Remember, also, these broad categories of demonstratives:
これ transcribed kore etc. → used alone, as a stand-in for the noun
この transcribed kono etc. → used before a noun, to indicate which one
ここ transcribed koko etc. → used for places
こちら transcribed kochira etc. → very polite and used for places, people, or directions
こんな transcribed konna etc. → used to point out “what kind” of thing (e.g. “this kind of…”)
こう transcribed kō etc. → used for the manner in which something was done (e.g. “this way”)
Now, it’s time to try out our Japanese demonstratives exercises, to test your skills! Happy learning!
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