This and That in Japanese: Whose Space the Thing Is In

Most languages split this and that into two words, and Japanese splits it into three. The word you pick follows whose space the thing is in, not how far away it is.

Picture yourself with a key, and a book lying next to the person you talk to:

これはわたしのかぎです。 (korehawatashinokagidesu.)

This is my key. (the one in my hand)

それは何の本ですか。それはなんのほんですか。 (sorehanannohondesuka.)

What book is that? (the one near you)

You need these words whenever you point at a thing, name a place, or ask which one. Do not pick あれ (are) only because the thing is far away. If it is in the listener's space, it is それ (sore), even when that person stands beside you.

Two more changes follow from that one question. A noun after the word changes its shape, and a conversation changes what the question is about.

これ (kore) points to something in your own space. それ (sore) points to something in the listener's, and あれ (are) points to something outside both. The test is whose space the thing is in, not the distance alone.

Your own space covers what you are holding and what came with you. The listener's space covers what is in that person's hands or on their desk. Anything outside those two takes あれ (are).

Here is the set for pointing at things, with the question member that belongs to it. どれ (dore) asks which one, and the field note on asking “what” takes it from here.

Read the whose-space column and you can see what these words sort by. No entry in it names a distance, only a person or the absence of one. The Meaning column only shows how each word usually looks in English.

That is why the same shirt can change words while it stays in one place. Watch it cross from your side of the counter to a clerk's.

Ask one question before you speak. Does the thing belong to the listener's space right now? If yes, the word is それ (sore), whatever the distance between you.

Here is the case that decides it. You ask a clerk about a shirt in a store, and the clerk lifts it to show you. The shirt is now closer to you than before, and it is still それ (sore).

The shirt moved into the clerk's space, and that is the whole reason. The distance changed and the word did not. Two other answers feel natural here, and both pick by something else.

One of them picks これ (kore) because you started the conversation. Who started talking is not what decides it.

The other picks あれ (are) because the shirt is not in your own space. But あれ (are) needs the thing to be outside the listener's space as well.

The test runs the other way too. If you are holding a shirt and the clerk asks about it, the clerk says それ (sore), because the shirt is in your space now. The word follows the space, whichever of you is speaking.

Back at the same counter, you can compliment what the clerk shows you:

それもかわいいですね。 (soremokawaiidesune.)

That one by you is cute too, isn't it?

Here, それ (sore) names the item the clerk holds, so it is in the listener's space.

Look past the counter at the high shelf behind the clerk, where neither of you can reach:

あれを見せてください。あれをみせてください。 (arewomisetekudasai.)

Please show me that one over there.

The same word works outdoors, for anything in neither space. A bus across the street takes it:

あれは学校のバスです。あれはがっこうのバスです。 (arehagakkounobasudesu.)

That over there is the school bus.

One habit makes the choice quick. Before you speak, name the person whose space the thing is in, and the word follows. In a convenience store you can get most of the way with these words and a nod.

A fast test settles the shape. When a noun comes next, the word has to be この (kono), その (sono), or あの (ano). When nothing comes next, it stays これ (kore), それ (sore), or あれ (are).

Set the two forms side by side and you can see the pattern. Each row has the word alone, the word before a noun, and a noun phrase built from it:

Miss that change and the error looks like this. A bag in your own space cannot take the standing-alone word:

❌ これかばんは高いですこれかばんはたかいです (korekabanhatakaidesu)

⭕ このかばんは高いです。このかばんはたかいです。 (konokabanhatakaidesu.)

This bag is expensive.

これ (kore) names a thing on its own, so it cannot describe one. この (kono) does the describing, and it needs a noun after it.

Adding の (no) does not fix it either. Shoes in your own space work the same way:

❌ これのくつ (korenokutsu)

⭕ このくつ (konokutsu)

this pair of shoes

The noun form does the ordinary work of pointing at what is in front of you. On a platform you can check where a train goes:

この電車は空港まで行きますか。このでんしゃはくうこうまでいきますか。 (konodenshahakuukoumadeikimasuka.)

Does this train go as far as the airport?

The question member changes shape in the same way, and the field note on asking “what” covers it.

Places sort the same way. ここ (koko) is the area around you, そこ (soko) is near the listener, and あそこ (asoko) is away from you both. Only the endings change.

These words behave like nouns, so they take は (ha) or に (ni) exactly as a place name would. In a restaurant you can name the seat you want:

あそこの窓際の席がいいです。あそこのまどぎわのせきがいいです。 (asokonomadogiwanosekigaiidesu.)

I would like that seat by the window over there.

The same set works when you tell someone where to put a thing. Keys go down beside the listener:

かぎはそこに置いてください。かぎはそこにおいてください。 (kagihasokonioitekudasai.)

Please leave the keys right there.

And あそこ (asoko) covers the place that belongs to neither of you. Ask before you photograph it:

あそこで写真を撮ってもいいですか。あそこでしゃしんをとってもいいですか。 (asokodeshashinwotottemoiidesuka.)

May I take a photo over there?

Store staff soften あそこ (asoko) into あちら (achira), the polite form you hear when someone shows you the way. Places have a question member too, and the same field note takes it.

When a stranger gives you directions, the same words come back. ここ (koko) is where you both are, そこ (soko) is at that person's side, and あそこ (asoko) is the far corner they point to. The person's side decides, not how far you have walked.

Stop pointing and the question changes. Now it asks which of you already knows the thing. その (sono) introduces something new to the listener, and あの (ano) points at a memory you share.

A store you both remember takes あの (ano). You saw the sentence in the pattern list, and here is the reason behind it:

あの店は、まだやっていますか。あのみせは、まだやっていますか。 (anomiseha,madayatteimasuka.)

Is that store we both know still open?

Both of you have been there, so the memory does the pointing. Say it about a store your friend has not heard of, and the sentence asks for a memory that is not there.

People work the same way. A stranger you saw yesterday is その人そのひと (sonohito), because your friend has not met them. The friend you both recall is あの人あのひと (anohito).

Meet that stranger again with the same friend, and the person becomes あの人あのひと (anohito), because now you both remember.

Pick あの (ano) too early and the listener has no memory to find. When you doubt whether the memory is shared, その (sono) is the safer start.

This is the same question the note opened with, asked a second way. When you point, whose space the thing is in decides the word. When you talk, the question asks about memory instead of space.

Both questions have the same shape, and you can answer either one before you speak. Pick the wrong member sometimes, and the person in front of you will still know which thing you mean.

The listener's side wins over distance, even when that person is right next to you.

If a noun comes next, the word has to be この (kono), その (sono), or あの (ano).

In conversation, その (sono) is new to the listener and あの (ano) is a memory you share.

これ (kore) covers this, and それ (sore) and あれ (are) both cover that. The split follows whose space the thing is in. Your own space takes これ (kore), the listener's takes それ (sore), and neither takes あれ (are).

Before you translate the English word, ask who the thing is with. The answer picks the word for you, and the distance does not.

それ (sore) means that one, the thing in the listener's space. Use it for the item on the listener's desk, even when that person stands close to you. The word marks a person's side, not a number of meters.

Both work, and the same test decides which one you want. これ (kore) opens a sentence about something in your own space, and それ (sore) opens one about something in the listener's. The distance between the two of you does not settle it.

Say them whenever you point at a thing, name a place, or refer back to something in conversation. The form follows two checks: whose space the thing is in, and whether a noun comes next.

Inside Ukiyoe Japanese, the pointing words have their own page, and it asks you the clerk question before it gives the answer. A second page covers the places and the conversation use, and it puts the stranger you saw yesterday in front of you as a question. Beside them is Particle gym, a drill that uses these pointing words in its sentences while you fill in the particle.