GrammarJLPT N5
→ that
That (Near the Listener)
JLPT N5Other (Pre-noun adjectival / Demonstrative)Neutral
その is a pre-noun demonstrative adjective (連体詞) meaning "that" or "the." It belongs to the こそあど (ko-so-a-do) system of Japanese demonstratives, where the そ-series refers to something close to the listener, something previously mentioned, or something both speaker and listener know about but that is not right here. Unlike それ, which is a standalone pronoun ("that" / "that one"), その must always be followed by a noun — it modifies the noun directly, much like an adjective. For example, それ can stand alone as in "それはペンです" (That is a pen), but その requires a noun: "そのペンは赤いです" (That pen is red). その contrasts with この (this — near the speaker) and あの (that over there — far from both). In conversation, その is also extremely common for referring back to something already mentioned, functioning similarly to the English definite article "the." Additionally, in casual speech, その can serve as a filler word meaning "um" or "well," though this usage is more of a speech habit than a core grammatical function.
Functions
#1 Indicating something near the listener
Structure
その + Noun
その本は おもしろいですか。
Here その points to a book that is physically near the listener but not near the speaker. This is the most basic spatial use of その in the こそあど system. The speaker sees the book on the listener's side and uses その to identify which book they are asking about, rather than この (which would mean the book is near the speaker) or あの (which would mean it is far from both).Is that book (near you) interesting?
Structures
- Basic pattern
- その + Noun
Common mistakes
A very common mistake is confusing その with それ. Remember that その must always be followed by a noun (e.g., そのかばん — "that bag"), while それ stands alone as a pronoun (e.g., それはかばんです — "That is a bag"). Saying something like "そのはいいです" is incorrect because その needs a noun after it — the correct form would be "それはいいです" or "そのものはいいです." Another frequent error is mixing up その, この, and あの. Learners often use あの when they should use その to refer to something near the listener or something just mentioned. Finally, some learners confuse その with そんな, which means "that kind of" and carries a stronger nuance of characterizing the type or nature of something, whereas その simply identifies which specific thing is being discussed.
Related
このあのどのそれそんな