Lesson 7 · about 5 minutes
This, that, and which
kore · sore · are · dore
これ・それ・あれ・どれ
You'll learn four tiny words for pointing at things.
The words
| Romaji | Japanese | Reading | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kore | これ | これ | this (near me) | |
| sore | それ | それ | that (near you) | |
| are | あれ | あれ | that over there (far from both) | |
| dore | どれ | どれ | which one? (when there are options) |
How they differ
In a story, distance is from the speaker's point of view, not from you as the reader.
これ (kore) is close to the speaker. それ (sore) is close to the other person. あれ (are) is away from both. どれ (dore) means "which one?" when there is a set to choose from.
Memory map: こ = me, そ = you, あ = away, ど = which/where.
See it in a sentence
kore o kudasai
これ を ください。
This one, please. (polite)
sore wa ikura desu ka?
それは いくら ですか?
How much is that? (polite)
are wa nan desu ka?
あれは なん ですか?
What is that over there? (polite)
dore ga ii desu ka?
どれ が いい ですか?
Which one is good? (polite)
kore ni shimasu
これ に します。
I'll take this. (polite)
Watch out
これ = a thing near me / ここ = a place near me ("here"). それ / そこ and あれ / あそこ work the same way for things vs places.
Try it
In your next story, find これ or それ once. Say out loud whether it's near the speaker or near the other person.
これ = near speaker; それ = near the other person