What is this? What is that? When you’re a beginner in a new language, you’re going to be brimming with questions about things you don’t know. If you don’t have a bilingual dictionary on hand, odds are you’ll need to ask kore wa nan desu ka (What is this?) to get your answers in Japanese. This is where demonstrative pronouns in Japanese come in!
In addition to every demonstrative pronoun you’ll need for Japanese conversation, this guide also takes you through other related vocabulary to supplement your knowledge. There’s no better way to learn how to ask questions and get answers in a foreign language than immersion learning, so committing these words to memory will help you on the way to fluency.
Table of Contents
What are demonstrative pronouns in Japanese?
When you want to point out specific people or things without using their name, you use a demonstrative pronoun. English has four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, and those. By comparison, there are over 20 demonstrative pronouns in Japanese!
One of the nine Japanese parts of speech, pronouns (daimeishi, 代名詞) take the place of a proper noun like a name or place. This is perfect for new learners of Japanese, because you’re bound to ask what something is often.
What is ko-so-a-do in Japanese grammar?
Ko-so-a-do (sometimes called kosoado words) refers to several sets of words in Japanese that designate things based on how close or far away they are. All demonstrative pronouns in Japanese start with one of these four sounds.
- Starts with ko (こ): near to the speaker
- Starts with so (そ): near to the listener
- Starts with a (あ): far from the speaker and the listener
- Starts with do (ど): question word
Chart of ko-so-a-do demonstrative pronouns
You’ll hear a lot of Japanese pronouns, but the good news is that as far as demonstrative pronouns (shiji daimeishi, 指示代名詞) go, you can generally stick to the singular ones.
There are plural demonstrative pronouns in Japanese, but because plurals are uncommon in Japanese overall, you can use the word for “this” to mean “these” and the word “that” to mean “those” without significant confusion. This chart includes the 11 most essential Japanese demonstrative pronouns.
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| これ | kore | this |
| それ | sore | that |
| あれ | are | that (over there) |
| どれ | dore | which |
| これら | korera | these |
| それら | sorera | those |
| あれら | arera | those (over there) |
| ここ | koko | here |
| そこ | soko | there |
| あそこ | asoko | over there |
| どこ | doko | where |
Chart of ko-so-a-do demonstrative pronoun variations
Beyond the basic kore/sore/are and koko/soko/asoko, you have a handful of options that mean the same thing in varying levels of politeness. Manners are especially valued in Japanese culture, and understanding the difference between formal and informal speech is crucial. Knowing when to use the words in this chart—or not use them—will make you sound more fluent.
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| こちら | kochira | this (polite) this person (polite) I/we (formal) here (polite) this way (polite) |
| そちら | sochira | that (polite) you (formal) there (polite) that way (polite) |
| あちら | achira | that over there (polite) that person over there (formal) there (polite) that way over there (polite) |
| どちら | dochira | which one (polite) which way (polite) who (formal) |
| こっち | kocchi | this (casual) this person (casual) I/we (casual) here (casual) this way (casual) |
| そっち | socchi | that (casual) you (casual) there (casual) that way (casual) |
| あっち | acchi | that over there (casual) that person over there (casual) over there (casual) that way over there (casual) |
| どっち | docchi | which one (casual) which way (casual) who (casual) |
| こいつ | koitsu | this guy (crude) |
| そいつ | soitsu | that guy (crude) |
| あいつ | aitsu | that guy over there (crude) |
| どいつ | doitsu | who (crude) |
How do you use demonstrative pronouns in Japanese?
The basic rule of using any pronoun is that it slots into a sentence the same way a noun would, adhering to the conventions of Japanese word order and sentence structure.
- Koko wa oyogu no ni ii basho desu.（ここは泳ぐのにいい場所です。）= This is a good place to swim. (Literally: Here is a good place to swim.)
This sentence could just as easily point out a specific location rather than using a demonstrative pronoun. You don’t need to change anything except the pronoun!
- Umi wa oyogu no ni ii basho desu.（海は泳ぐのにいい場所です。）= The ocean is a good place to swim.
When asking a question using demonstrative pronouns in Japanese, the only difference between the question and the answer is replacing “what” (nan or nani, 何) with the answer to “what is” and adding the Japanese particle ka (か) to the end of the question. The demonstrative pronoun stays in the same place for both the question and the answer (or you can drop the pronoun and subject marker entirely if it’s obvious).
- Are wa nan desu ka.（あれは何ですか。）= What is that?
- Are wa watashi no sobo no ie no e desu.（あれは私の祖母の家の絵です。）= That is a painting of my grandmother’s house.
What is the difference between kochira and kore in Japanese?
The difference between kochira and kore (and their counterparts for “that” and “that over there”) is politeness. Achira, kochira, sochira are more polite, while are, kore, sore are more general pronouns that can be used in almost any situation.
The polite way to refer to a person is to use kochira, sochira, or achira.
- Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi no ana san desu.（こちらは私の友達のアナさんです。）= This is my friend Anna.
Alternatively, you could use kore, kocchi, or koitsu in this situation (in descending order of politeness). Remember that koitsu (and its similar words) are generally inappropriate—or even rude—unless you’re among close friends.
- Kore wa watashi no tomodachi no ana san desu.（これは私の友達のアナさんです。）= This is my friend Anna.
- Kocchi wa watashi no tomodachi no ana desu.（こっちは私の友達のアナです。）= This is my friend Anna.
- Koitsu wa watashi no tomodachi no ana da.（こいつは私の友達のアナだ。）= This is my friend Anna.
Similarly, the difference between asoko and achira (and their counterparts) is also a matter of manners. Koko/soko/asoko refer to locations, and kochira/sochira/achira can refer to locations as well as people. When giving directions to a stranger, you may choose to go with the latter.
- Chikatetsu wa achira desu.（地下鉄はあちらです。）= The subway is there.
However, just as when referring to people, you have a few other options when talking about location. In these examples, achira is the most polite, followed by asoko and then acchi.
- Chikatetsu wa asoko desu.（地下鉄はあそこです。）= The subway is there.
- Chikatetsu wa acchi da.（地下鉄はあっちだ。）= The subway is there.
Ko-so-a-do words that aren’t pronouns
Sets of ko-so-a-do words go beyond pronouns. They have common adjective and adverb variants as well, and they’re just as useful to remember as demonstrative pronouns in Japanese.
Chart of ko-so-a-do adjectives
Like in English, Japanese adjectives often go right before the noun they’re describing. Another similarity to English is the parts of speech “this” fits into.
Although “this” is a pronoun in both languages, it can also be used as an adjective in both languages! If you refer to something as “this is,” then it’s a pronoun. If you instead specify a certain noun, as in “this book,” it’s an adjective. The same is true in Japanese, as you can see with the terms in this chart.
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| この～ | kono~ | this [noun] |
| その～ | sono~ | that [noun] |
| あの～ | ano~ | that [noun] over there |
| どの～ | dono~ | which [noun] |
| こんな～ | konna~ | this kind of [noun] |
| そんな～ | sonna~ | that kind of [noun] |
| あんな～ | anna~ | that kind of [noun] (distant) |
| どんな～ | donna~ | what kind of [noun] |
Think of kono/sono/ano as a combination of kore/sore/are with the possessive particle no (の). Instead of kore no, the word becomes kono, and so on. Keeping that in mind, remember that kono is not followed by the topic particle wa (は) like kore is. Rather, it should be directly followed by a noun.
- Kore wa neko desu.（これは猫です。）= This is a cat.
- Kono neko wa inu ga kowaku arimasen.（この猫は犬が怖くありません。）= This cat is not afraid of the dog.
When using the konna, sonna, and anna series of words to mean a certain kind, a noun follows directly after instead of a particle.
- Donna ryōri ga suki desu ka?（どんな料理が好きですか？）= What types of food do you like?
- Itaria ryōri to doitsu ryōri ga suki desu.（イタリア料理とドイツ料理が好きです。）= I like Italian food and German food.
- Konna ryōri ga suki desu.（こんな料理が好きです。）= I like this kind of food.
Chart of ko-so-a-do adverbs
Just as many adjectives can be turned into Japanese adverbs by adding particles or changing their form, the same is possible with certain ko-so-a-do words.
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| こう | kō | like this |
| そう | sō | like that |
| ああ | ā | like that (over there) |
| どう | dō | how; in what way |
| こんなに | konna ni | this much |
| そんなに | sonna ni | that much |
| あんなに | anna ni | that much (distant) |
| どんなに | donna ni | how much |
| このように | kono yō ni | in this manner |
| そのように | sono yō ni | in that manner |
| あのように | ano yō ni | in that manner (distant) |
| どのように | dono yō ni | in what manner |
| こうやって | kō yatte | in this way |
| そうやって | sō yatte | in that way |
| ああやって | ā yatte | in that way (distant) |
| どうやって | dō yatte | by what means |
While konna (and the rest of its type) is an adjective on its own, it turns into an adverb with the particle ni (に). As an adverb, you can express surprise or dismay at the extent of something.
- Naze konna ni samui no?（なぜこんなに寒いの？）= Why is it this cold?
The yatte in kō yatte is actually the te-form conjugation of the verb yaru, which means “to do.” Although it’s most closely translated as “this/that way,” thinking of it as a combination between the adverb kō/sō/aa and the conjugated verb yatte may help you remember how to use it. That also means you can use the adverb by itself to get your meaning across!
- Dō yatte wakarimasu ka?（どうやって分かりますか？）= How do you know? (Literally: By doing what do you know?)
- Kō yatte.（こうやって。）= Like this.
Learn this and that with Rosetta Stone
Although the number of demonstrative pronouns in Japanese is several times that of English, the variety of options gives you the freedom to be highly specific with your choice of words. Whether you’re using “this is” to introduce someone to your boss at work with kochira or one close friend to another with kore or koitsu, you can let your language skills shine with demonstrative pronouns.
For deeper understanding, what better way to learn what “this is” than by using a language program? By learning Japanese with Rosetta Stone, you’ll find demonstrative pronouns in the first unit and throughout as new vocabulary is introduced to you alongside native audio and images.
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