this-top.jpg

 

Learn to use the words for this and that, kore and sore. It will be very useful for you when visiting Japan to be able to point at something and saying “what is this” – “kore wa nan desu ka”. But, better be prepared to get the answer back in Japanese ;) .

Contents

Topics : Showing and asking for things
Grammar : Basic Interrogatives and Demonstratives
これ、それ、あれ、どれ
(kore, sore, are, dore) This, that, that over there, which
この、その、あの、どの
(kono, sono, ano, dono) This, that, that over there, which
なん (nan) – what
の (no) – a possessive marker

Dialogue

In the following dialogue, the collegues Keiko and Akemi are looking at a bunch of books at Akemi’s table. japaneseforbusypeople.jpg

Japanese:
けいこ：

それ　は　なん　です　か?

あけみ： どれ　です　か?　あっ、この　あかい　ほん　です　か?
けいこ：
 はい、　それ　です。
あけみ： これ　は　わたし　の　にほんご　の　ほん　です。

 

Romaji:
Keiko: Sore wa nan desu ka?
Akemi: Dore desu ka? A, kono akai hon desu ka?
Keiko: Hai, sore desu.
Akemi: Kore wa watashi no nihongo no hon desu.

 

English:
Keiko: What is that?
Akemi: Which (one)? Ah, do you mean this red book?
Keiko: Yes, that (one).
Akemi: This is my Japanese language book.

Vocabulary

それ sore that
は
 wa
 topic marker, concerning …, regarding …
なん nan
 what
どれ dore
 which
ほん
 hon
 book
あっ
 a!
 Ah, (marks something somewhat unexpected)
この
 kono
 this (used with noun)
あかい
 akai
 red
か
 ka
 question marker
はい
 hai
 yes
これ
 kore
 this
わたし
 watashi
 me / I
の
 no
 possesive marker, similar to ‘s in “John’s book”
にほんご
 nihongo
 Japanese language
にほん
 nihon
 Japan
〜ご
 ~go
 (something) language

Notes

In Japanese there is a serie of words that is used for the meanings of this/that/that(far)/what and similar meanings. It is sometimes called the kosoado serie, from the first letters of the words. Depending on if the object spoken about is close to the speaker or the listener, different words are used.

 

korearesore.png

When used alone, they are all ending with -re:

  • kore – this (near the speaker)
  • sore – that (near the other person)
  • are – that (not near any of the persons)
  • dore – which

But when the words are used together with a noun, they transform into words with the ending -no.

  • kono hon – this book
  • sono hon – that book
  • ano hon – that book (over there)
  • dono hon – which/what book

To make a complete sentence, you also have to learn the word for what, 何. The kanji 何 is pronounced なん (nan), but can also be pronounced なに (nani) in some cases.

Practice

Practice the words you have learned by answering for yourself the following questions. You will find the answers in the bottom of the page.

The questions are numbered using two Japanese numbers and five characters: 一 (ichi: one), 二 (ni: two), あ (a), い (i), う (u), え (e), お (o). This is a common way to number things in Japan, and we thought it may be a good way for you to get started learning the characters.

一 　Fill out the missing Japanese word

あ This is my book. ___ wa watashi no hon desu.
い Which book?
 ___ hon desu ka?
う No, that newspaper over there.
 Iie, ___ shinbun.
え This book is red.
 ___ hon wa akai desu.
お
What is that?
 ___ wa nan desu ka?

二 　Fill out the missing English word.

あ dore ga ii desu ka? ___ would be good (for you)?
い ano akai shinbun desu ka? ___ red newspaper?
う Hai, sono shinbun onegaishimasu. Yes, ____ newspaper please.
え sore wa nan desu ka?
___ is that?
お
kore wa sushi desu. ___ is sushi.

Answers

  • 一 あ）kore,　い）dono,　う）ano,　え）kono, 　お）sore
  • 二 あ）which,　い）that (over there),　う）that,　え）what,　お）this

Learn More

Continue learning about these topics in the areas

Related posts:

  1. Free Japanese Lesson: Greetings and Phrases