4.7 これ, それ, あれ and ここ, そこ, あそこ — Epoché
What you will be able to do Use これ , それ and あれ for things, and ここ , そこ , あそこ for places. Know that this is a three-way system where English has two, and what the third term means. Use the この series, which goes in front of a noun rather than standing alone. See the whole こそあど pattern, and be able to predict a form you have not been taught. Prerequisites : lesson 6.6 — the town and directions, and the position words. English divides the world into this and that : near me, and not near me. Japanese divides it three ways — near me, near you, near neither of us — and the middle term is the one an English speaker never produces, because there is no English word that means it. Three, not two Word What it points at これ this — the thing near me , the speaker それ that — the thing near you , the listener あれ that over there — near neither of us The dividing line is not distance but whose territory the thing is in . If it is in your hand, これ . If it is in the listener's hand — even if they are standing next to you — それ . If it is across the room from both of you, あれ , however close the two of you are to each other. So the mapping to English is not clean, and this is the point to get straight. English that covers both それ and あれ , and which one it corresponds to depends on a fact about the listener that English does not encode. An English speaker's instinct is to use あれ for everything that is not これ , which is wrong roughly half the time and always in the same way: reaching for あれ about something the listener is holding. The same three-way split runs through the places: Word Meaning Notes ここ ja koko here — where I am ここはいいびょういんだ。 This is a good hospital. ここはよくゆきがふるよ。 It snows a lot here. そこ ja soko there — where you are そこはすごくじゅうようよ。 That point is very important. そこはなつでもさむいんだ。 It's cold there even in summer. あそこ ja asoko over there — away from both of us あそこはひとがおおすぎ。 There are too many people over there. あそこはやすいおみせだよ。 That's a cheap shop over there. The この series goes in front of a noun これ is a pronoun: it stands alone and means "this thing". To say "this book" you need a different word, この , which attaches to a noun and cannot stand alone. Standing alone In front of a noun これ — this one このほん — this book それ — that one, near you そのほん — that book of yours あれ — that one over there あのほん — that book over there どれ — which one? どのほん — which book? English does not make this distinction: this serves both as a pronoun ("this is mine") and as a determiner ("this book"). Japanese has two separate words, and using これ before a noun — これほん — is not a small error but ungrammatical. A useful accident: この looks as though it is これ plus the particle の from lesson 4.4, and historically that is close to true. Thinking of it as "this-'s book" is wrong etymology but a good mnemonic, and it gets the word order right. The whole pattern: こそあど All of this is one system, and Japanese grammars name it after its four initials. Learn the grid and you can predict forms nobody has taught you. Meaning Near me / near you / over there / which? thing これ ・ それ ・ あれ ・ どれ before a noun この ・ その ・ あの ・ どの place ここ ・ そこ ・ あそこ ・ どこ direction, polite place 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 こう ・ そう ・ ああ ・ どう Four of the words in that grid you have already met without being told they belonged to a system. どこ was in lesson 6.6 — "where?". どちら was in lesson 4.1 — "which of two?". どう was in lesson 6.4 — "how about …?". And そう is in そうです , "that's right", from lesson 6.1. They all fit the grid, and the grid is why they look alike. Two rows are worth a note. The こちら row is the polite way to say a place, so in a shop or an office you will hear こちらへどうぞ — "this way, please" — rather than ここ . And あ in the manner row is ああ , not あう , which is the one irregularity in the whole system. How English does it English has a two-term system, and it used to have three. Yon and yonder were the middle and far terms of a three-way split in older English, and they survive in dialects — "yon field" — and in the fixed phrase "hither and yon". So the category is not foreign to English; English has simply lost it, which is why the middle term feels like an extra thing to learn rather than a thing you already think. A second and more useful difference. English this and that also work on things in the conversation rather than in the room: "that's a good idea", "this is what I mean". Japanese does the same, and the three-way split carries over in a way worth knowing: In conversation Which term something I have just said or am about to say これ / この something you have just said それ / その something we both remember from outside this conversation あれ / あの The third row has no English equivalent at all, and it is genuinely useful. あのひと can mean "that person over there", but between two people who both know who is meant it means "you know who I mean" — a shared reference that needs no name. Japanese conversation leans on this constantly, and it is the same instinct as the topic particle: mark what we both already have. In real sentences Sixteen sentences. For each, say which of the three terms is used and what that tells you about where the thing is. Japanese English これは、まーじゃんです。 [1] This is mahjong. これはおみやげです。 [2] This is a little something for you. これはあなたのへやですか。 [3] Is this your room? これはあなたのしょうりだ。 [4] This is your victory. ああ、それはざんねんだ！ [5] Oh, that's a shame! いや、それはむり。 [6] No, that's impossible. そこはすごくじゅうようよ。 [7] That point is very important. そこはなつでもさむいんだ。 [8] It's cold there even in summer. あれはせんせいですか。 [9] Is that the teacher? あれはふるいおしろです。 [10] That is an old castle. あれはじょうだんだったの？ [11] Was that a joke? あれは、えきいきのバスよ。 [12] That's the bus to the station. ここはいいびょういんだ。 [13] This is a good hospital. ここはよくゆきがふるよ。 [14] It snows a lot here. あそこはひとがおおすぎ。 [15] There are too many people over there. あそこはやすいおみせだよ。 [16] That's a cheap shop over there. Sentences five to eight are all それ and そこ , and not one of them is about a physical location. それはざんねんだ responds to something th