JLPT N5 grammar · The Absolute Basics

こ/そ/あ/ど (demonstrative prefixes): meaning, usage and examples

こ/そ/あ/ど (demonstrative prefixes) means: こ: Something near to the speaker; そ: Something near to the listener; あ: Something far away from both speaker and listener; ど: Something the speaker doesn't see or know about.

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. これ (This), それ (That), あれ (That over there), どれ (Which)

   kore (This), sore (That), are (That over there), dore (Which)

2. ここ (Here), そこ (There), あそこ (Over there), どこ (Where)

   koko (Here), soko (There), asoko (Over there), doko (Where)

3. この本ほんはおもしろいです。

   This book is interesting.

4. そのかばんは誰だれのですか。

   Whose bag is that?

5. あそこに大おおきい木きがあります。

   There is a big tree over there.

When to use it

The ko-so-a-do system shows relative distance. こ = near speaker, そ = near listener, あ = far from both, ど = question word.

Nuance

そ can refer to something in the listener's territory or to something just mentioned in conversation.

Compare

ここ (place), これ (thing), こちら (direction/polite person), こんな (type): all follow the same ko-so-a-do logic.

Tip: In text-based conversations, そ often refers to what was just said (anaphoric use).