Japanese demonstratives: How to use これ (kore), それ (sore), and more?

Demonstratives are words that you use to point something out or indicate which one is being talked about. There are quite a few demonstratives in Japanese, but they all follow a similar pattern, starting with こ[ko], そ[so], あ[a], or ど[do]:

Demonstrative words are very helpful, since they can help you narrow down which one you’re talking about. But be careful! Some of the Japanese rules might surprise you, for example, the form you use before a (e.g. “this house”) looks a little different from the form you use on its own!

In this article, we’ll introduce you to the Japanese demonstratives in the table above, and then discuss how to use some other demonstratives, including the equivalents of “here” and “there”, like ここ[koko], そこ[soko], あそこ[asoko], and どこ[doko].

Ready to learn how to use these super useful words? Let’s get started!

The Japanese demonstrative pronouns これ[kore], それ[sore], あれ[are] and どれ[dore] are all used to point out a noun, like you might use “this” or “that” in English. As we mentioned above, these words are used without a following noun.

We saw above that the difference between これ[kore], それ[sore], and あれ[are] comes from where the noun is in relation to the people in the conversation. So the basic rule is:

Let’s visualize this by imagining a scene in a clothing store:

See if you can figure out which t-shirt is indicated by each person in each sentence.

• You:

  すみません、これはいくらですか。

  Sumimasen, kore wa ikura desu ka.

  Excuse me, how much is this one?

  → The t-shirt closest to you, the speaker, is shirt 1.

  Store Clerk:

  それは1,000円です。

  Sore wa sen en desu.

  That one is 1,000 yen.

  → Since the clerk is speaking now, they’ll talk about shirt 1 using それ.
• You:

  それはいくらですか。

  Sore wa ikura desu ka.

  How much is that one?

  → Now we’re talking about a shirt closer to the store clerk, so shirt 2.

  Store Clerk:

  これは1,500円です。

  Kore wa sen gohyaku en desu.

  This one is 1,500 yen.

  → Since shirt 2 is close to the store clerk, we they use これ when discussing it.
• You:

  あれはいくらですか。

  Are wa ikura desu ka.

  How much is that one?

  → Now we’re looking for a t-shirt that is far from both of you, so you’ll use あれ!

  Store Clerk:

  あれは700円です。

  Are wa nanahyaku en desu.

  That one is 700 yen.

The Japanese demonstrative adjectives, この[kono], その[sono], and あの[ano] are used when words like “this,” or “that,” are used before a noun, to help you indicate one in particular. The distance rules, though, are the same as for the demonstrative pronouns we saw above!

Let’s look at some examples:

In Japanese, you can also use the words この[kono], その[sono], and あの[ano] to mean “these” or “those”: just use them before a plural noun!

The demonstrative pronouns この[kono], その[sono], and あの[ano] do have special plural forms: これら[korera](these), それら[sorera](those), and あれら[arera](those). However, they’re not often used in everyday speech.

In Japanese, どれ[dore] and どの[dono] are both used to ask “which” questions. どれ[dore] is used if there is no following noun (e.g. “Which is cheaper?”) while どの[dono] is used when it’s followed by a noun (e.g. “Which book is cheaper?”)

Let’s look at how to structure the questions and answers themselves!

In Japanese, we use the words ここ[koko], そこ[soko], and あそこ[asoko] to point to places, like you might use “here” or “there” in English. If you want to ask “where?” or “what place?” you can use どこ[doko].

Let’s look at another scenario to practice using these demonstratives!

You and your colleague are in a room with three doors. You want to find the bathroom so you ask…

See if you can figure out, using the picture above, which door your colleague would be indicating with each possible answer:

Though the demonstratives above are the most common, there are some other demonstratives in Japanese as well. These all use the same こーそーあーど pattern we saw above. Let’s have a look!

In Japanese, you can also use demonstratives to talk about a past time or situation, much like you might refer to “that day” or “that vacation” in English. To do this in Japanese, you’ll use either the そ[so] demonstratives and sometimes use the あ[a] demonstratives.

Usually you’ll use the そ[so] demonstratives are used when you are referring to a specific time, thing or place that is new information to the listener; the listener was not a witness to the past situation:

On the other hand, you’ll use the and the あ[a] demonstratives are used when the speaker and the listener share the same knowledge, usually because the listener was also there to experience the past situation:

In this article, we looked at how to use a variety of Japanese demonstrative words. These are “pointing” words that help you pick out which thing, time, person, place, etc. you’re referring to.

The most important thing to remember is this basic table:

Remember, also, these broad categories of demonstratives:

• これ[kore] etc. → used alone, as a stand-in for the noun

• この[kono] etc. → used before a noun, to indicate which one

• ここ[koko] etc. → used for places

• こちら[kochira] etc. → very polite and used for places, people, or directions

• こんな[konna] etc. → used to point out “what kind” of thing (e.g. “this kind of…”)

• こう[kō] etc. → used for the manner in which something was done (e.g. “this way”)

Now, it’s time to try out our Japanese demonstratives exercises, to test your skills! Happy learning!