How do we say “this” and “that” in Japanese?
What is a demonstrative pronoun?
When we say,
This is delicious!
we don’t know what this “this” refers to, do we?
A demonstrative pronoun is an abstract word that describes something without using its proper name.
In English, the demonstrative pronouns are “that” and “this”.
And in Japanese,
これ
kore
それ
sore
あれ
are
What types of demonstrative pronouns are there?
There are two types of demonstrative pronouns.
- for actual objects (we refer to what we can see in person)
- for contextual objects (we refer to what we talk (write)))
In this lesson, we will learn about the demonstrative pronouns for the actual objects.
And to use them, we need to study two differences.
- Relational demonstrative pronouns
- Individual demonstrative pronouns
Relational demonstrative pronouns
In Japanese, the relational position determines which demonstrative pronoun should be used.
これ (kore) : for something that I HAVE (and near me)
それ (sore) : for something that YOU HAVE (and near you)
あれ (are) : for something that NEITHER I OR YOU HAVE (and far from me and you)
For example,
これはiPhoneです。
kore wa aihon desu.
This (that I have now) is an iPhone.
それはiPhoneです。
sore wa aihon desu.
That (that you have now) is an iPhone.
あれはiPhoneです。
are wa aihon desu.
That (which is overthere) is an iPhone.
Individual demonstrative pronouns
Japanese demonstrative pronouns can also be used differently without reference to someone.
In such a case, it’s the distance from the speaker that matters.
これ (kore) : for something close to me
それ (sore) : for somehitng that is neither near nor far from me
あれ (are) : for something far from me
But in this usage, それ (sore) is not so used.
Instead, the distinction between これ(kore) and あれ (are) is rather used.
For example,
これはゴミです。
kore wa gomi desu.
This (near me) is trash.
それはゴミです。
sore wa gomi desu.
That is trash.
あれはゴミです。
are wa gomi desu.
That (far from me) is trash.
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