Grammar › Core Patterns
これ・それ・あれ — this, that, that over there
The ko-so-a-do system: near me, near you, far from both
Japanese splits “that” in two: これ (near me), それ (near you), あれ (far from both of us), plus どれ (which?). The same こ・そ・あ・ど pattern runs through the whole language: ここ/そこ/あそこ/どこ (places), この/その/あの/どの (before nouns).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| これ/それ/あれ + です | これは何ですか — what is this? |
| この/その/あの + noun | あの人はだれですか — who is that person? |
| ここ/そこ/あそこ | トイレはあそこです — the toilet is over there |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| これをください。 | これをください。 korewokudasai。 | I'll take this one, please. |
| それは何ですか。 | それはなんですか。 sorehanandesuka。 | What's that (you have)? |
| あの山は富士山です。 | あのやまはふじさんです。 anoyamahafujisandesu。 | That mountain over there is Mt. Fuji. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
これ stands alone; この must hug a noun (この本). Saying ×これ本 is the telltale beginner slip. And in a shop, これをください is the single most useful sentence in this course.