L103 - This and That
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 
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Contents
| Topics |
: |
Showing and asking for things
|
| Grammar |
: |
Basic Interrogatives and Demonstratives
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|
|
これ、それ、あれ、どれ
(kore, sore, are, dore) This, that, that over there, which
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|
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この、その、あの、どの
(kono, sono, ano, dono) This, that, that over there, which |
|
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なん (nan) - what |
|
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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. 
| 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
|
Go to the drill for this lesson's vocabulary.
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.
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?
|
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___ hon desu ka?
|
| う |
No, that newspaper over there.
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Iie, ___ shinbun. |
| え |
This book is red.
|
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___ 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
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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
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The particle は is pronounced "wa" even though it is spelled "ha."
The particle へ is pronounced "e" even though it is spelled "he."
The particle を is pronounced "o" even though it is spelled "wo."
Shouldn't it be
これ わ わたし... ?
It's in the word list too. Is it just me or does the wa look like ha?
4. Ok, konnichiwa Harry-san, Jason desu. Genki desu ka?
5. Hai, genki desu.(remember 'desu' is the end of the sentence and 'ka' only come in a question) Arigatou.
6. Sore wa nan desu ka?
7. Kore wa Watashi no shinbun. Amerika no shinbun desu. ('no' as in newspaper OF America"
8. Amerika-jin? (you can use this but for beginner it's better to use more formal thing like anata(you) wa amerika-jin desu ka?"
9. Hai, Watashi wa Amerika-jin desu.
10. same with 8
11. Iie, Watashi MO amerika-jin desu. ('mo' is replace for too, we don't use kochira koso for this)
15. A! Ano Shinkansen desu (this means a!that shinkansen, you use 'are wa shinkansen desu' to say that's a shinkansen)
18. same with 11 use 'mo' instead of 'wa'.
This is a few mistakes that I know of, I haven't learn Japanese that long yet so I'm not sure if it's entirely true but you can take this in consideration.
2. Hi there, nice to meet you!
3. Nice to meet you to, I am Harry.
4. Ok, hello Harry. I am Jason. How are you?
5. Oh I’m fine, thank you.
6. What is that?
7. This is my newspaper, it’s from America.
8. Are you American?
9. Yes, I am American.
10. Are you Japanese?
11. No, I’m American too.
12. Oh! What is that?
13. Which one?
14. What is that, over there?
15. Oh, that is the Shinkansen.
16. Is the Shinkansen interesting?
17. Yes, the Shinkansen is interesting.
18. Sushi tastes good as well.
19. Yes, I love sushi.
20. Please…
1. Hajimemashite!
2. Hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
3. Kochira koso, yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Harry desu.
4. Ok, konnichiwa Harry, Jason desu. Genki desu ka?
5. Hai, genki desu ka, arigatou.
6. Sore wa nan desu ka?
7. Kore wa Watashi no shinbun. Shinbun wa Amerika-jin desu.
8. Amerika-jin?
9. Hai, Watashi wa Amerika-jin desu.
10. Nihon-jin?
11. Iie, Kochira koso, Watashi wa amerika-jin desu.
12. A! Sore wa nan desu ka?
13. Dore desu ka?
14. Are wa nan desu ka?
15. A! Ano Shinkansen desu.
16. Shinkansen wa omoshiroi desu ka?
17. Hai, Shinkansen wa omoshiroi desu.
18. Sushi wa Oishii desu.
19. Hai, Watashi wa sushi ga daisuki desu.
20. Onegaishimasu…
Please can you tell me, and if it is wrong, can you tell me the truth but not too harsh please, i'm new to this...
:oops:
http://www.studyjapanese.org/content/view/203/49
jc.green14@yahoo.com
"kore" always stands for a noun by itself: kore wa neko desu-- this (what I am pointing at) is a cat. kore is a pronoun.
"kono" always introduces a noun: kono neko wa kuroi desu-- this cat is black. "this" does not stand for a cat by itself in this sentence; it tells you WHICH cat is being talked about. kono is a demonstrative adjective.
We are so used to the same word being used in both ways in English that we often do not realize that these are entirely different usages. Many languages have different words for them.
Similarly, sore and are stand for things by themselves. sono and ano come before a noun, and tell you WHICH noun is being talked about.
anyway. Im getting used to it. hai! arigatou gosaimasou!
ARIGATO!
arigato
Good to hear that you appreciate the site. Thank you for using it!!
Arigatou
By the way. I often think it sounds like Japanese pronounce 新聞 (shinbun) as "shimbun", although it's wrong spelling, as you pointed out. The same goes for がんばって (ganbatte) that I often think sounds like "gambatte" although that is wrong spelling too.
I am glad you like this site. Thanks for using it - hope you will find it rewarding.
but please get more lessons i love this :D
i have learned so much and i feel kinda honored to be able to correct you guys :D gan bate kudasai! ;D