Japanese Demonstratives こそあど

In Brief

Japanese demonstratives form a four-part こ・そ・あ・ど system. こ- points near the speaker, そ- near the listener, あ- away from both, and ど- asks a question: これ “this,” それ “that,” あれ “that over there,” どれ “which one?” Choose the ending according to whether you mean a thing, a noun modifier, a place, or a direction.

Overview

Demonstratives are words used to point out or identify people, things, and places. English mainly contrasts “this” with “that,” but Japanese regularly makes a three-way distance distinction: near me, near you, or away from both of us. A fourth, matching set supplies question words. Because all four sets follow the same pattern, they are often called こそあど言葉（こそあどことば）.

This is an A1 system that appears constantly in shopping, introductions, directions, and everyday questions. The beginner rule is physical: use こ- for your side, そ- for the other person’s side, and あ- for something distant from you both. That rule gets you through most first conversations.

The same system also points to things already mentioned in a conversation. That use is less about physical distance and more about whose information or topic is being discussed. It is introduced later in this article so you can first learn the visible, concrete pattern.

How It Works

The four series

Series	Core idea	Typical English meaning
こ-	close to the speaker	this, here
そ-	close to the listener	that, there
あ-	away from both	that over there, over there
ど-	unknown; asks a question	which, where

Imagine a book in your hand: it is これ. A book in the listener’s hand is それ. A book on a shelf across the room is あれ. If you do not know which book is meant, ask どれ.

Things: これ・それ・あれ・どれ

These forms are pronouns (words that stand in for a noun). They can stand alone; do not put a noun directly after them.

Near speaker	Near listener	Far from both	Question	Function
これ	それ	あれ	どれ	thing or item

• これは本です。 — This is a book.
• それは何ですか。 — What is that?
• あれを見てください。 — Please look at that over there.
• どれが田中さんの傘ですか。 — Which one is Mr. Tanaka’s umbrella?

These words refer primarily to things. When pointing to a person, Japanese commonly uses この人, その人, or あの人 rather than treating the person as an object with これ・それ・あれ.

Before a noun: この・その・あの・どの

These forms must come directly before a noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea). They cannot normally stand alone.

Near speaker	Near listener	Far from both	Question	Function
この	その	あの	どの	modifies a following noun

• この本 — this book
• その本 — that book near you
• あの本 — that book over there
• どの本 — which book

The distinction resembles English “this” versus “this book”: use これ by itself, but この本 when you name the object. Japanese does not allow combinations such as これ本.

The particles that mark a phrase’s job come after the complete expression:

• この本は面白いです。 — This book is interesting.
• その本をください。 — Please give me that book.
• どの本がいいですか。 — Which book is good?

Places: ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ

Near speaker	Near listener	Far from both	Question	Function
ここ	そこ	あそこ	どこ	place

Notice that the distant form is あそこ, not あこ. These words combine naturally with location particles:

• ここにあります。 — It is here.
• そこで食べます。 — We will eat there.
• あそこへ行きます。 — We will go over there.
• どこから来ましたか。 — Where did you come from?

Use に for a destination or the location where something exists, で for the place where an action happens, へ for direction, and から for a starting point. The demonstrative itself does not replace the particle.

Directions and polite alternatives: こちら・そちら・あちら・どちら

Near speaker	Near listener	Far from both	Question	Main uses
こちら	そちら	あちら	どちら	direction, side; polite place or person reference

The basic meaning is “this/that/which direction or side.” In polite speech, these forms can also refer to places and people:

• 出口はこちらです。 — The exit is this way.
• お手洗いはあちらです。 — The restroom is over there.
• こちらは佐藤さんです。 — This is Ms. Sato.
• ご出身はどちらですか。 — Where are you from? (polite)

The shorter こっち・そっち・あっち・どっち forms are common in casual conversation. They should not be your default in formal customer-service or business situations.

Choosing どれ, どの, どこ, or どちら

The ど- series does not indicate distance. It asks the listener to identify the missing item.

Form	What follows?	Question asked
どれ	no noun	Which one?
どの + noun	a noun	Which noun/person/item?
どこ	usually a particle or predicate	Where?
どちら	usually a particle or predicate	Which direction/side?; where? (polite)

When selecting one from a clearly identified set, どれ and どの + noun often take が: どれがいいですか “Which one is good?” In natural conversation, は can appear when “as for which one” is being set as the topic, but が is a reliable beginner choice when asking which item has a property.

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
これは何ですか？	What is this?	これ stands alone for a nearby thing.
それは私の鍵です。	That is my key.	The key is on the listener’s side.
あれは東京タワーです。	That over there is Tokyo Tower.	The landmark is far from both speakers.
どれがあなたの荷物ですか？	Which one is your luggage?	どれ selects an item without repeating its noun.
このケーキはおいしいです。	This cake is delicious.	この comes directly before ケーキ.
その本をください。	Please give me that book.	その本 is the object marked by を.
あの人は誰ですか？	Who is that person over there?	あの人 is a natural way to point out a distant person.
どの電車に乗りますか？	Which train will you take?	どの modifies 電車.
ここに名前を書いてください。	Please write your name here.	ここに marks the place where the result goes.
そこで写真を撮りましょう。	Let’s take a photo there.	で marks where the action happens.
駅はあそこです。	The station is over there.	あそこ identifies a distant place.
どこに行きますか？	Where are you going?	に marks the destination.
受付はこちらです。	Reception is this way.	Polite guidance using こちら.
田中さんはどちらですか？	Which person is Mr. Tanaka? / Where is Mr. Tanaka?	Context determines whether どちら asks for the person or location.
そちらの天気はどうですか？	How is the weather where you are?	そちら can mean “your area” at a distance.

Common Mistakes

Putting これ before a noun

• Wrong: これ本は面白いです。
• Right: この本は面白いです。
• Why: これ means “this one” and stands alone. Before a noun, change -れ to -の: この本.

Using この without a noun

• Wrong: このは私のです。
• Right: これは私のです。
• Why: この must modify a following noun. If the thing is already understood, use これ.

Treating Japanese as a two-way English system

• Wrong: Using それ for every English “that,” even when the object is far from both people.
• Right: それ for something by the listener; あれ for something away from both.
• Why: English “that” covers both situations, but Japanese normally distinguishes them.

Dropping the location particle

• Wrong: どこ行きますか？ in careful beginner speech
• Right: どこに行きますか？
• Why: どこ supplies the place, but に marks it as the destination. Particles are sometimes omitted in casual speech, but learn the complete pattern first.

Referring to a person as これ

• Wrong: これは山田さんです。 while pointing directly at a person
• Right: こちらは山田さんです。 or この人は山田さんです。
• Why: Bare thing words can sound as though the person is an object. こちら is polite for an introduction; この人 is grammatically possible but its social tone depends on context.

Confusing どれ and どの

• Wrong: どれ本を買いますか？
• Right: どの本を買いますか？
• Why: どれ stands alone; どの requires a following noun.

Usage Notes

Distance depends on the conversation

The basic speaker–listener rule works best when two people face each other. If both people are standing together and pointing into the same area, items within their shared space may be これ, while a visibly distant item is あれ. Speakers choose a form according to how they mentally divide the space, not according to a fixed number of metres.

In a phone or video conversation, そちら can mean “your place,” and こちら can mean “my/our place”: そちらは今、何時ですか asks what time it is where the other person is.

Politeness and people

Shops and public announcements often prefer こちら・そちら・あちら・どちら to the plainer place words. A staff member may say お会計はこちらです (“The checkout is this way”) or どちらになさいますか (“Which would you like?”). This is partly politeness and partly the wider meaning of “this side/option.”

When asking who someone is, どなた is the dedicated polite word for “who.” どちら様ですか is even more deferential in contexts such as answering a door or telephone. These belong to politeness vocabulary rather than the core demonstrative pattern, but you will hear them alongside it.

Writing and pronunciation

The forms are normally written in hiragana. こちら is pronounced as four morae—small rhythmic units in Japanese—こ・ち・ら, while casual こっち contains a brief held consonant represented by small っ.

Beyond the Basics: Discourse and Extended Series

You do not need to master this section at A1, but these patterns explain many uses that physical distance alone cannot.

Referring back to ideas

Japanese uses demonstratives for information in a conversation or text. Broadly:

• そ- often refers to something just introduced by the other person, or to information not treated as shared: その話は知りません — “I don’t know about that story.”
• あ- can evoke something both people recognise from shared knowledge or memory: あの店、覚えていますか — “Do you remember that restaurant?”
• こ- can present something as close to the speaker’s current focus, and in writing may point forward to what is about to be explained: 問題はこれです — “The problem is this.”

These are tendencies, not mechanical substitutions. A speaker can choose a series to frame psychological closeness, shared memory, or conversational ownership.

The “kind” series

Another regular family describes manner or kind:

Near/current	Listener-related	Shared/distant	Question	Meaning
こんな	そんな	あんな	どんな	this/that/what kind of
こう	そう	ああ	どう	in this/that/what way

Examples include どんな音楽が好きですか (“What kind of music do you like?”), そう思います (“I think so”), and こうしてください (“Please do it like this”). The pattern is related to こそあど, but each family has its own grammar: こんな modifies a noun, while こう describes a manner.

どれ and どっち when choosing

どっち is the casual counterpart of どちら and is especially natural when choosing between two alternatives: コーヒーとお茶、どっちがいい？ (“Coffee or tea—which do you want?”). どれ is commonly used to choose one item from a larger visible set. This is a useful tendency, although real conversations can use どちら／どっち for “which option” even when the number of options is not exactly two.

Practice Tips

1. Build four-word rows. Learn each function as a complete set: これ・それ・あれ・どれ, then この・その・あの・どの, and then ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ. Saying the question form last makes the shared structure easy to remember.
2. Practise with real space. Put three objects near you, near a partner, and across the room. Describe them first with standalone forms—これは…—and then with noun forms—このペンは…. Switch places so the correct words change.
3. Add particles to place questions. Make short pairs such as どこに行きますか／駅に行きます and どこで食べますか／ここで食べます. This trains both the demonstrative and the place particle instead of learning either in isolation.

Related Concepts

• Foundation: Basic Particles — use は, が, and を after demonstrative phrases.
• Foundation: Location Particles — combine ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ with に, で, and へ.
• Next step: Basic Questions — build questions with どれ, どの, どこ, and other question words.
• Next step: Requests — use expressions such as その本をください when asking for an item.