Lesson 1 · N5 Beginner

Lesson 6: Demonstratives — これ, それ, あれ, どれ (Ko-So-A-Do System)

Master Japanese spatial reference pronouns: items close to the speaker (Ko), close to listener (So), far from both (A), and question (Do).

15 min Reading + Practice N5 Beginner

1. The Ko-So-A-Do Demonstrative Matrix

Distance	Pronoun (Thing)	Modifier (Noun)	Location
Near Speaker	これ (Kore – This)	この + Noun	ここ (Koko – Here)
Near Listener	それ (Sore – That)	その + Noun	そこ (Soko – There)
Far from Both	あれ (Are – That over there)	あの + Noun	あそこ (Asoko – Over there)
Question	どれ (Dore – Which one?)	どの + Noun	どこ (Doko – Where?)

2. Important Rule: これ vs この

これ (Kore) stands alone as a pronoun: これはペンです。 (This is a pen.)
この (Kono) MUST be followed immediately by a noun: このペンは私のです。 (This pen is mine.)

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