Demonstratives are words like “this” and “that”, which derive their meaning from context (spacial, in this case). They include determiners, which modify nouns, pronouns, which which take the place of a noun or noun phrase, and proadverbs, which represent concepts such as time (then) and location (there).
You’ve already seen a couple of Japanese demonstratives, kore (this) and sore (that), which are just two of a much larger collection.
This section introduces the ko-so-a-do series of Japanese demonstratives, named after prefixes ko-, so-, a-, and do- used to create these words.
Recommended background:
This and That: the -Re and -No Series
Each ko-so-a-do word is made by pairing one of the prefixes with one of several suffixes. Here’s one such set.
| Hiragana | Romaji | Translation | Location |
| これ | kore | this one | near the speaker |
| それ | sore | that one | near the listener |
| あれ | are | that one over there | far from both |
| どれ | dore | which one? | unknown |
Kore, sore, and are are pronouns, differentiated by the perceived distance from the speaker: near the speaker, near the listener, or far from both. English doesn’t distinguish between the last two, so both sore and are are translated as “that”.
Multiple objects in the area might qualify as kore, and likewise for sore and are. In this case, it’s necessary for the speaker to point to the one they mean.
The last word, dore, is an interrogative, a question word. The answer to a question using dore could be kore, sore, are, or the actual identity of the item.
(Read more on Question Words)
What makes these words different from their English equivalents is that you can’t use them as determiners. Compare “This is a delicious cake” with “This cake is delicious”: in Japanese, kore can only be used in the first sense.
Instead, Japanese used a separate set of words for the determiners:
| この | kono | this [something] |
| その | sono | that [something] |
| あの | ano | that [something] over there |
| どの | dono | which [something]? |
Unlike the -re series, words in the -no series must be attached to a noun; they can never stand alone. They also bear a striking similarity to the modifying particle “no”.
A couple examples:
| あれは おおきいりんごです。 | Are wa ookii ringo desu. | That over there is a big apple. |
| あのりんごは おおきいです。 | Ano ringo wa ookii desu. | That apple over there is big. |
We haven’t covered adjectives yet, but in this simple case what’s going on should be obvious.
In summary, while the English “this” and “that” can be used as either pronouns or determiners, in Japanese you must use the -re series for the pronoun and the -no series for the determiner.
Other Ko-so-a-do Demonstratives
Other demonstratives work in the same way as the -re and -no series. Ko- always signifies something psychologically close to the speaker, so- for the listener, a- for neither, and do- for the question word. This is sometimes abstract, like there at the other end of a phone call or that way that someone explains something.
Here are some of the most common demonstratives:
| ko- | so- | a- | do- | ||
| Pronouns | -re thing |
これ/kore this one |
それ/sore that one |
あれ/are that over there |
どれ/dore which one? |
| -ko location |
ここ/koko here |
そこ/soko there |
*あそこ/asoko over there |
どこ/doko where? |
|
| -chira direction |
こちら/kochira this way |
そちら/sochira that way |
あちら/achira that way over there |
どちら/dochira which way? |
|
| Proadverbs | ^-u manner |
こう/kou in this way |
そう/sou in that way |
*ああ/aa in that other way |
どう/dou in what way? |
| Determiners | -no determiner |
この/kono this ___ |
その/sono that ___ |
あの/ano that ___ over there |
どの/dono which ___? |
| Attributives | -nna sort |
こんな/konna this sort of ___ |
そんな/sonna that sort of ___ |
あんな/anna that other sort of ___ |
どんな/donna which sort of ___? |
*Irregular formation ^The “ou” in these words is a long ‘o’
Other demonstratives you might encounter work in the same way.
A few pointers:
- The words for location and direction are pronouns, not proadverbs like in English. Think of “where” in English as meaning “at/to what place”; in Japanese you will need to add the particle for “at” or “to” respectively.
- The -no and -nna series must be followed by a noun. They can’t be used as predicates (after the word “be”), only as modifiers.
- Demonstratives starting with a- are sometimes used to refer to things that both the speaker and listener are knowledgeable about, rather than their usual meanings. So a place that the listener is knowledgeable about is soko while a place that both people are familiar with is asoko.
Additional details on the use of these words will be covered on the lessons where they are formally introduced.