Japanese demonstratives — the equivalents of "this," "that," "here," "which" — are unusually tidy. They form a grid: a column for each distance, a row for each kind of word. Learn the logic once and the whole set falls out. Collectively they're called こそあど言葉, after their four leading sounds.
The こ・そ・あ・ど logic
Every demonstrative starts with one of four sounds, and that sound carries the meaning:
- こ- — near the speaker ("this, here").
- そ- — near the listener ("that, there by you").
- あ- — far from both ("that over there").
- ど- — the question ("which? where?").
The ending tells you what kind of word it is. Here's the core grid:
| Meaning | こ (near me) | そ (near you) | あ (over there) | ど (?) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thing (pronoun) | これ | それ | あれ | どれ |
| + noun (this ~) | この | その | あの | どの |
| place | ここ | そこ | あそこ | どこ |
| direction / polite | こちら | そちら | あちら | どちら |
| kind of | こんな | そんな | あんな | どんな |
| manner (like ~) | こう | そう | ああ | どう |
これ vs この — pronoun vs modifier
The single most common beginner mistake. これ is a standalone pronoun — it is the thing. この must be followed by a noun — it describes the thing. You can't say これ本; it's either これは本です ("this is a book") or この本 ("this book").
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| これは何ですか | kore wa nan desu ka | What is this? |
| この本を読む | kono hon o yomu | read this book |
| あそこに行く | asoko ni iku | go over there |
| どれがいいですか | dore ga ii desu ka | Which one is good? |
そ vs あ when nothing is in the room
The grid is about physical space, but そ and あ also split by knowledge in conversation. Use そ- for something the listener knows but you're treating as theirs or as just-introduced. Use あ- for something both of you already share — a memory or person you can both call to mind.
「昨日の店、よかったね」「ああ、あそこ、また行きたい」 — "That shop yesterday was nice." "Yeah, that place — I want to go again." Both speakers share the memory, so あ, not そ.
こちら and the polite column
こちら・そちら・あちら・どちら literally mean directions ("this way"), but they're also the polite forms of the others. どちら is a softer どこ ("where?") and also "which?" between two options. In service Japanese you'll hear こちらになります ("here you are") constantly.