JLPT N5 Grammar: koko and kochira, talking about here and there

. ここ、そこ、あそこ、どこ

1. ここ、そこ、あそこ、どこ

　koko, soko, asoko, doko

ここ　　here, near me
そこ　　there, near you
あそこ　over there
どこ　　where

2. これ /それ /あれ/どれ

KORE/SORE/ARE/DORE

· kore これ
This thing. (near me.)

· sore それ
That thing. (near you.)

· are あれ
That thing. (far from us.)

· dore どれ
What thing?

3. この, その, あの, どの

Kono, sono, ano, dono

この-this/these

その-that/those

あの-over there

どの-which/what

4. こちら、そちら、あちら どちら

kochira, sochira, achira, dochira

kochira こちら
This side. My side.

This way.

sochira そちら
That side. Your side.
That way.
achira あちら
That side over there. His side.
That way over there.
dochira どちら
What side? Whose side?

In Japanese, kochira, sochira, achira, dochira こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら mean "this way (toward me)," "that way (toward you)," "that way (away from us)," and "what way?"

Explain with example-

1. ここ、そこ、あそこ、どこ

koko, soko, asoko, doko

ここ　　here, near me
そこ　　there, near you
あそこ　over there
どこ　　where

These words are used for places.

【ここ／そこ／あそこ】は【PLACE】です
【KOKO／SOKO／ASOKO】WA【PLACE】DESU

§ ‘koko-’ is used when ‘the object near to the speaker’,

§ ‘soko-’ is used when ‘the object near to the listener’, and

§ ‘asoko-’ is used when ‘the object far away from both speaker and listener’.

ここ (koko) means 'here' and is used for places near the speaker.

EX-

がっこうはここです。 The school is here.
Gakkou wa koko desu.

そこ (soko) means 'there' and is used for places near the recipient.

ぎんこうはそこです。 The bank is there.

Ginkou wa soko desu.

あそこ (asoko) means 'over there' and is used for places far from both the speaker and the recipient.

おてらはあそこです。 The temple is over there.
Otera wa asoko desu.
どこ (doko) means 'where' and has no restrictions in regards to distance.

ほんやはどこですか。
Honya wa doko desu ka.
Where is the book store?

Here is a conversation example:

すみません、えきはどこですか。
Sumimasen, eki wa doko desu ka.
Excuse me, where is the station?

(えきは)あそこです。
(eki wa) asoko desu.
(station) is over there.

ありがとうございます。
Arigatou gozaimasu.
Thank you very much.

いいえ。
Iie.
You're welcome.

１．ここは どこですか。

koko wa doko desuka.
Where is here?

２．A：すみません。ゆうびんきょくは どこ（どちら= ていねい）ですか。
sumimasen. yūbinkyoku wa doko (dochira = polite) desuka.
Excuse me. Where is the post office?

B：あそこ（あちら= ていねい）です。
asoko (achira = polite) desu.
It is over there.

A：わかりました。どうもありがとうございます。
wakarimashita. dōmo arigatō gozaimasu.
I understood. Thank you.

B：どういたしまして。
dōitashimashite.
You’re welcome

2. これ /それ /あれ/どれ KORE/SORE/ARE/DORE

This – kore (これ). Refers to things that are close to the speaker.

That – sore (それ). Refers to things that are close to the person you are talking to.

That over there – are (あれ). Refers to things that are far away from both you and the speaker.

Sample sentences:

Kore wa hon des (これは　ほん　です) This is a book (when the book is close to you, the speaker)

Sore wa hon des (それは　ほん　です) That is a book (when the book is close to the person you are talking to)

Are wa hon des (あれは　ほん　です) That over there is a book (when the book is far away from you and the other person)

Let’s say you want to be more specific. Imagine you are at a book store and there are many books. How do you refer to a specific book? Perhaps you are pointing to a specific book or holding a specific book. Then in this case you’d use:

kono hon (この　ほん) This book (in particular)

sono hon (その　ほん) That book (in particular)

ano hon (あの　ほん) That book over there (in particular)

Sample Sentences:

kono hon wa takai des (この　ほんは　たかいです) This book is expensive (when the book is close to you)

sono hon wa takai des (その　ほんは　たかいです) That book is expensive (when the book is close to the other person)

ano hon wa takai des (あの　ほんは　たかいです) That book over there is expensive (when the book is far away from the speaker and the other person)

Tags: are, kore, sore, that, that over there, this

· kore wa nani?
これはなに？
This is what?
What is this thing close to me?

· sore wa nani?
それはなに？
That near you is what?
What is that thing close to you?

· are wa nani?
それはなに？
That far from us is what?
What is that thing far from both of us?

kore wo kau
これを買う
To buy this.
kono geemu wo kau
このゲームを買う
To buy this game.

Note that are? あれ？ is also an interjection of doubt, "huh?"

あの人は誰ですか？

Ano hito wa dare desu ka?

Who is that person?

3. この, その, あの, どの

Kono, sono, ano, dono

この-this/these

その-that/those

あの-over there

どの-which/what

この / その / あの / どの＋noun

Kore, sore, are, and dare can be modified by replacing the final re with no to specify an object. It is important to note that kono, sono, ano, and dono cannot stand alone: they must be followed by a noun. For example, if you know that the item in your hand is a watch (tokee) you can say:

このとけいはいくらですか。 How much is this watch?
kono tokee wa ikura desu ka.

As opposed to:

これはいくらですか。 How much is this?
kore wa ikura desu ka.

To summarize:
これ　（は～）        このnoun （は～）            close to the person speaking
それ　（は～）　　そのnoun （は～）            close to the person listening
あれ　（は～）　　あれnoun （は～）            far from both people
どれ　（は～）　　どのnoun （は～）            unknown

この／その／あの【NOUN】
KONO/SONO/ANO【NOUN】

1．あのけいたいでんわは だれのですか。
       ano kētai denwa wa dareno desuka.
       Whose mobile phone is that?
  (☓are wa dareno desuka.←Listener can’t identify the object.)

２．あのひとは だれですか。
ano hito wa dare desuka.
Who is that?
(☓are wa dare desuka.←You can’t use “kore/sore/are” for a person.)

A：あのけしゴムは だれのですか。
ano keshigomu wa dareno desuka.

B：ゆうきくんのです。
yūki kun no desu.

A：そうですか。
sō desuka.

　A：あのかぎは だれのですか。
ano kagi wa dareno desuka.

B：わたなべさんのです。
watanabe san no desu.

A：そうですか。
sō desuka.

これはいくらですか？
Kore wa ikura desu ka?
How much is this?

Replace 'kore wa' with 'kono+noun':

このかばんはいくらですか？
Kono kaban wa ikura desu ka?
How much is this bag?

4. こちら、そちら、あちら どちら

kochira, sochira, achira, dochira

kochira こちら
This side. My side.

This way.

sochira そちら
That side. Your side.
That way.
achira あちら
That side over there. His side.
That way over there.
dochira どちら
What side? Whose side?

kochira こちら
This side. My side.
This way.
sochira そちら
That side. Your side.
That way.
achira あちら
That side over there. His side.
That way over there.
dochira どちら
What side? Whose side?
What way?

These words can be used either to represent people, sides, or directions. Like other pronouns in Japanese, sochira is used to what's close to you and to who you're talking to, while achira is used for what's far from both.

Examples

Let's see some examples to have a better idea

kochira de nantoka suru こちらで何とかする
We'll do it somehow. We'll fix it somehow.
(this means that you, sochira, shouldn't worry about it as we, this side, will manage)
kochira e douzo こちらへどうぞ
Come here.
Come to us.
kochira ni mukatte kuru! こちらに向かってくる！
(the enemy, monster, whatever) is coming at us!
sochira wa dou desu ka? そちらはどうですか？
How are things there?
(here we're talking about your side, the side of the listener)
achira wa watashi no tomodachi desu あちらは私の友達です
Those are my friends.
(those, on that side, over there, are my friends)
dochira-sama desu ka? どちら様ですか
Who are you?
okane to shiawase dochira ga hoshii desu ka? お金と幸せどちらが欲しいですか？
Money or happiness, which do you want?

chira pronouns put emphasis on direction and side while the nata pronouns put emphasis on the person. One big different, for example, is that sochira can be used for "you guys" as a group, while sonata and anata can only refer to one person.

These meanings may look similar to the pronouns konata, sonata, anata and donata because, in fact, they are similar, however, thepronouns put emphasis on direction and side while thepronouns put emphasis on the person. One big different, for example, is thatcan be used for "you guys" as a group, whileandcan only refer to one person.

These words are also more formal variants of kocchi, socchi, acchi and docchi , which are more frequently used in anime.

In the Japanese language, there are four pronouns ending inちら, they are:こちら,そちら,あちら andどちら. Amongst these,is the most common, while the words are often spoken in dialogues, but what do they really mean? Just like other kosoado pronouns , we can divide these words and their meaning like this:

Achira

that over there

Kochira wa haha desu.

This is my mother.

Kochira wa imouto desu.

This is my younger sister.

Kochira wa otouto desu.

This is my younger brother.

Kochira wa sensei desu.

This is my teacher.

Sochira wa otousan desu ka.

Is that your father?

Sochira wa chichi desu.

That is my father.

Sochira wa oneesan desu ka.

Is that your older sister?

Sochira wa ani desu.

That is my older brother.

Achira wa okaasan desu ka.

Is that your mother over there?

Achira wa haha desu.

That is my mother over there.

Achira wa kouchou sensei desu ka.

Is that the principal over there?

Achira wa kouchou sensei desu.

That is the principal over there.

The same patterns are applied for Japanese ‘Here’ and ‘There’ – ここ (koko), そこ (soko), あそこ (asoko), こちら (kochira), そちら (sochira), and あちら (achira).

§ the suffix ‘-ko’ is used for indicating the location.

Structure: ここ/そこ/あそこ + は

§ the suffix ‘–chira’ is used for direction, motion towards, or preference.

Structure: こちら/そちら/あちら + は

NOTE:

§ in a casual way, こっち (kocchi), そっち (sochhi), and あっち (acchi) are used instead.

§ the suffix ‘-chira’ can also be translated as ‘this’ and ‘that’.

§ the suffix ‘-chira’ is more polite than ‘-ko’.

EX-

ここは銀行です。

Koko wa ginkō desu.

This is a bank.

そこは教室です。

Soko wa kyōshitsu desu.

That is a classroom.

あそこは会議室ですか？

Asoko wa kaigishitsu desu ka?

こちらは松本さんです。

Kochira wa Matsumoto-san desu.

Here (this) is Mr. Matsumoto.

そちらは会社です。

Sochira wa kaisha desu.

There is the company.

あちらはコンビニです。

Achira wa konbini desu.

Over there is a convenience store.

①　A：じむしょは どちら（どこ）ですか。
jimusho wa dochira (doko) desuka.

B：そちら（そこ）です。
sochira (soko) desu.