こ・そ・あ・ど - Systems of Directional Words

In Japanese, there is a very interesting system to indicate directions and many other things. It is called the "ko/so/a/do system", as all of the words in the system begin in those Japanese characters. The ko/so/a/do system indicate the distance of things, places and people. It can also indicate directions and state or kind of something.

Demonstrative Pronouns

The こそあど (ko/so/a/do) system covers so called demonstrative pronouns. That is words like "this" and "that". Generally, a demonstrative pronoun belongs to the こそあど system. The following table shows the whole set of basic words in this system.

	What
Where:	Thing	Place	Direction/ Place	Person/ Thing	State/ Kind Of
Near speaker	これ (kore)	ここ (koko)	こちら (kochira)	この+N (kono ＋Ｎ)	こんな+N (konna + N)
Near listener	それ (sore)	そこ (soko)	そちら (sochira)	その+N (sono + N)	そんな+N (sonna + N)
Far from both	あれ (are)	あそこ (asoko)	あちら (achira)	あの+N (ano ＋Ｎ)	あんな+N (anna + N)
Question	どれ (dore)	どこ (doko)	どちら (dochira)	どの+N (dono ＋Ｎ)	どんな+N (donna + N)

Comment: N =

Locations Indicated by Demonstratives

Japanese has three locations described by demonstrative words, whereas English and Chinese only have two. In Japanese, "ko" is used for objects or people close to the speaker, "so" for objects or people closer to the listener, and "a" for objects or people far away from both the speaker and the listener.

Note how the pronouns change in the question and answer pairs below (P = someone):

	Thing	Person
Near first speaker:	kore wa nan desu ka? sore wa N desu or kono N wa nan desu ka? sono N wa NN desu.	kore wa dare desu ka? sore wa P desu. or kono hito wa dare desu ka? sore wa P desu.
Near second speaker:	sore wa nan desu ka? kore wa N desu. or sono N wa nan desu ka? kono N wa NN desu	sore wa dare desu ka? kore wa P desu. or sono hito wa dare desu ka? kono hito wa P desu.
Far from both speakers:	are wa nan desu ka? are wa N desu. or are wa nan desu ka? are wa NN desu.	are wa dare desu ka? are wa P desu. or ano hito wa dare desu ka? ano hito wa P desu.

Comment: N = , NN = , P=

The direction words "kochira", "sochira", "achira" and "dochira," are polite forms; in daily conversation we commonly use "kocchi", "socchi", "acchi" and "docchi."

It's considered very rude to say phrases like "sono hito (the person)" and "kono hito (this person)" when referring to a person you don't know well. So in this case, or when you speak to a person who is older than you, or at work or school, you should say "sono kata (the person)," "kono kata (this person)" and "ano kata (that person)," or more polite expressions like "sochira no kata (the person)," "kochira no kata (this person)" and "achira no kata (that person)." These are the phrases you will probably hear in conversation.

Please note that the following examples are made up just for learning the concept. They would likely be considered rude in an ordinary conversation.

Example 1 - Near first speaker

Japanese: この人は　誰ですか？ その人は　韓国の　李さんです。

Romaji: Kono hito wa dare desu ka? Sono hito wa kankoku no Li-san desu. English: Who is this person? He/she is Mr./Mrs. Lee, from South Korea.

Example 2 - Near second speaker

Japanese: その人は　誰ですか？ この人は　韓国の　李さんです。

Romaji: Sono hito wa dare desu ka? Kono hito wa kankoku no Li-san desu. English: Who is that person? He/she is Mr./Mrs. Lee, from South Korea.

Example 3 - Far from both speakers

Japanese: あの人は　誰ですか？ あの人は　韓国の　李さんです。

Romaji: Ano hito wa dare desu ka? Ano hito wa kankoku no Li-san desu. English: Who is that person? He/she is Mr./Mrs. Lee, from South Korea.

Exercise

For each of (a), (b), (c) and (d) , select the best word from the choices こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら (kochira, sochira, achira, dochira).

Japanese:

• 李　：もしもし、（　a　）は田中先生のお宅ですか。
• 先生：はい、田中ですが、（　b　）様でしょうか。
• 李　：李です。ソウルから国際電話をかけています。
• 先生：いやぁ、久しぶりだね。元気だった？
• 李　：ええ、おかげさまで。実は出張で、明日から一週間ほど（　c　）に行くことになったんですが、できればその間に先生にお会いしたいと思いまして。
• 先生：僕の方こそ、ぜひ会いたいね。それで、（　d　）にはいつ着く？

Romaji:

• Li: moshi moshi, (  a  ) wa Tanaka sensei no otaku desu ka?
• Sensei: hai, Tanaka desu ga, (  b  ) sama deshou ka?
• Li: Li desu. Souru kara kokusaidenwa o kaketeimasu.
• Sensei: iyaa, hisashiburi da ne. genki datta?
• Li: ee, okagesamade. jitsu wa shucchou de ashita kara isshuukan hodo ( c  ) ni iku koto ni nattan desu ga, dekireba sono aida ni sensei ni oaishitai to omoimashite.
• Sensei: boku no hou koso, zehi aitai ne. sorede (  d  ) ni wa itsu tsuku?

English:

• Lee： Hello. Excuse me, but is this the Tanaka residence?
• Tanaka： Yes, this is Tanaka. Can I ask who this is?
• Lee： This is Lee. I'm calling long distance from Seoul.
• Tanaka： Ah, it's been a long time! Have you been well?
• Lee： Yes, thank you. In fact, I'll be going there on a business trip around a week from tomorrow. I'd like to get together with you then if possible.
• Tanaka： I'd love to see you, too! So when will you be arriving here?

Commentary

The question is about how to use "ko, so, a and do" in a long distance telephone call. "Ko" means close to you, and "so" means close to the listener; if you don't understand this, you might make a mistake like "Hello, excuse me, but is that (over there) your home, Dr. Tanaka?". You should note that "achira" is used only for a place far away from both of you.

Answers:

a：そちら　　ｂ：どちら　　ｃ：そちら　　ｄ：こちら

Usage in Context

Students in intermediate classes are more likely to have problems when "ko, so, a and do" refer to WHEN, WHERE, WHO and WHAT in the topic, rather than when they indicate locations being pointed to. Since there are three classifications for locations for Japanese demonstrative words, rather than two as in English and Chinese, the usages can be different.

1. Usage of "こ" in context

The most important usage of "ko" is to refer to something in what you yourself are saying.

Japanese: Ａ：実は、近く社長が交代するらしいですよ。 Ｂ：えっ？ほんとうですか。 Ａ：ええ、でも、この話はしばらく秘密にしてくださいね。

English: A: Actually, it seems that the president will be replaced soon. B: What? Really? A: Yes, but please keep this secret for the time being, please.

Also, there is a different usage of "ko" when you initially broach a topic, indicating a statement which will come later.

Japanese: Ａ：これは人事部の人から聞いた話なんですが。 Ｂ：何ですか。教えてください。 Ａ：実は、近く社長が交代するらしいです。

English: A: I have a story that I heard from someone in the personnel department. B: What? Please tell me. A: Actually, it seems that the president will be replaced soon.

2. Usage of "そ" in context

"そ" generally indicates something the other peson has said. It can also indicate something unknown to you

Japanese: Ａ：孫さんが李君と結婚すると聞きました。 Ｂ：えっ？それはほんとうですか。

English: A: I hear that Son-san is going to marry Lee-kun. B: What? Really?

3. Usage of "あ" in context

It's useful to think of "あ" as indicating something which is well known both to you and the other person. "あ" is used to talk about a common experience or something known to both of you.

Japanese: Ａ：担任だった田中先生は、今もあの学校にいらっしゃるのかなあ。 Ｂ：あの先生はもう辞められたそうだよ。

English: A: I wonder if our classroom teacher, Tanaka-sensei, is still at the school. B: My understanding is that she's already resigned.

"あ" is also used to refer to something remembered from the past.

Japanese: Ａ：あのころは楽しかったなあ。 Ｂ：あの頃って？ Ａ：学生時代のことだよ。

English: A: How happy those days were! B: "Those days"? A: I mean when we were in school.

4. Usage of "こ・そ・あ" to express time

In this usage, you can think of "こ" as meaning "now". For example, "kore kara" has the same meaning as "ima kara"; that is, "from now on", and "kore made" the same meaning as "ima made": "until now". "Kono aida," like "senjitsu", means "several days ago."

"あ" refers to a time experienced by both you and the listener. For example:「あの頃は楽しかったねえ」「うん、あの頃にもう一度戻りたいよ」("We sure had good times then, didn't we?" "Yeah, it would be nice to go back to those days!".)

"そ" indicates the time of the topic regardless of the tense indicated by the verb. For example, in the sentence 「昨年、上海に行きました。その時、・・・」("I went to Shanghai last year, and at that time...") "sono" indicates the past tense. If the sentence is "、「来年上海に行きます。その時、・・・」("I'm going to Shanghai next year, and when I do..."), it refers to the future.

Exercise 1

Choose the best word from the choices indicated.

Japanese:

• 後輩：先輩、（こんな／そんな／あんな）に飲んで大丈夫ですか。
• 先輩：（この／その／あの）くらい大丈夫だよ。じゃんじゃん飲もう。
• 後輩：相変わらずお酒が強いですね。学生時代と少しも変わっていません。
• 先輩：（こんな／そんな／あんな）ことはない。もう若くないし、とても（この／その／あの）頃みたいには飲めないよ。

English:

• Kouhai: Senpai, are you alright although you've been drinking so much?
• Senpai: It's okay. Let's drink a lot!
• Kouhai: You can hold your drink as always! You haven't changed at all since the old days.
• Senpai: That's not true. I'm not so young anymore, and I can't drink like before!

Note: Kouhai means junior, while senpai means senior.

Exercise 2

Choose the best word from the choices indicated.

Japanese:

• Ａ：（この／その／あの）間のコンサート、よかったね。
• Ｂ：うん、すごくよかった。君は（この／その／あの）コンサートの後、すぐ帰ったの？
• Ａ：ううん。「菊屋」っておでん屋に寄って飲んでた。
• Ｂ：もしかして、（この／その／あの）店って、歌舞伎町の「菊屋」じゃない？
• Ａ：そうだよ。
• Ｂ：なんだ。（ここ／そこ／あそこ）は、僕もよく行く店なんだよ。

English:

• A: The concert that we went to some days ago sure was nice, wasn't it?.
• B: Yeah, it was great. Did you go back home right away?
• A: No, I stopped by at an oden pub called "Kikuya" and had some drinks.
• B: You don't mean the one in Kabukicho by any chance, do you?
• A: Yes.
• B: I go there often, too.

Commentary and Answer

• Exercise 1: Note that the third sentence refers to the school days these two spent together.
• Exercise 2: (a) refers to the concert they went to together, and (c) to a shop both of them know very well. In the fourth sentence, person B is not sure if the shop "Kikuya" person A went to
  is the one where person B often goes. For something unknown or uncertain, you use "so".

Answers to Exercise 1:  そんな, この, そんな, あの
Answers to Exercise 2: この, あの, その, あそこ

 

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This lesson is StudyJapanese.org's translation of the first chapter in the book "日本語教材の日本語駆け込み寺　初級文型の難所", written by Meguro Makoto, published at http://www.nihongo2.com . It is published here with the consent of the author.

(c) 2008 Meguro Makoto, Nihongo2.com - All rights reserved