Demonstratives
これ / それ / あれ（指示詞）
1. What are demonstratives?
Japanese uses これ / それ / あれ to point to things.
These words are called demonstratives.
■Structure
これ / それ / あれ + particle
These words are used with particles to form sentences.
これ + は
これ + が
これ + を
これ + に
これ + で
In this lesson, we use the particle は to keep the structure simple.
We focus on the distance
of demonstratives（これ / それ / あれ）.
You will learn how to use
other particles（が / を / に / で）in a later lesson.
For example:
これは ほん です。
This is a book.
それは ペン です。
That is a pen.
あれは かばん です。
That is a bag.
2. Lesson goal
In this lesson, you will learn
how to use これ / それ / あれ based on distance.
You will learn:
•the meaning of これ / それ / あれ
•how to choose them by distance
First, focus on understanding the distance clearly.
3. Basic pattern
これ
near the speaker
Example sentences
これは ほん です。
This is a book.
それ
near the listener
Example sentences
それは ほん です。
That is a book near you.
あれ
far from both
Example sentences
あれは ほん です。
That is a book.
The rule is simple:
これ = near the speaker
それ = near the listener
あれ = far from both
4.Key difference (English vs Japanese)
English has two levels:
•This
•That
Japanese has three levels:
これ = near the speaker
それ = near the listener
あれ = far from both
Both それ and あれ mean “that” in English.
So it is important to understand the difference by distance.
5. These are used as nouns
これ / それ / あれ are used as nouns.
Each word already means ” this / that ” by itself.
So they can be used as nouns in a sentence.
Example sentences:
これはパンです。
This is bread.
それは せんせい の ほん です。
That is the teacher’s book.
あれは がっこう です。
That is a school.
6. Do not omit the particle (は/が）
Do not omit the particle
after これ / それ / あれ.
Correct
これは ほん です。
This is a book.
Wrong
× これ ほん です。
× It is unnatural because the particle “は” or “が” is missing.
Use this pattern:
これは～です
それは～です
あれは～です
7. Questions with これ / それ / あれ
You can also use them in questions.
Example sentences:
これは なに ですか？
What is this?
それはあなたのペンですか？
Is that your pen?
あれは がっこう ですか？
Is that a school over there?
This connects to the previous lesson.
8. Position in the sentence
これ / それ / あれ are often placed at the beginning of a sentence.
But they can also appear in other positions in a sentence.
Example sentences:
これは ほん です。
This is a book.
それはペンです。
That is a pen.
あれは くるま です。
That is a car.
Learn this position first.
9. Examples sentences:
Basic
これは ほん です。
This is a book.
それはペンです。
That is a pen.
あれは かばん です。
That is a bag.
これはあなたの本です。
This is your book.
それは先生のペンです。
That is the teacher’s pen.
あれは がっこう です。
That is a school.
Questions
これは なに ですか？
What is this?
それは ほん ですか？
Is that a book?
あれは がっこう ですか？
Is that a school?
10. Common mistakes
1) Confusing distance
The object is near the speaker,
but あれ is used.
2) Omitting the particle
× これ ほん です。
× It is unnatural because
the particle “は” or “が” is missing.
↓
○ これは ほん です。
This is a book.
3) Breaking the basic pattern
× これペン。
↓
○ これはペンです。
This is a pen.
11. Mini practice
Choose the correct word.
1.（これ / それ / あれ）は ほん です。
near the speaker
→
2.（これ / それ / あれ）はペンです。
near the listener
→
3.（これ / それ / あれ）は がっこう です。
far from both
→
answer
１.これは ほん です。
２.それは ペン です。
３.あれは がっこう です。
12. Key points
•これ = near the speaker
•それ = near the listener
•あれ = far from both
•English has 2 levels, Japanese has 3
• These words are used as nouns
• They connect with particles
• Use 「は」 to keep the structure simple in this lesson
13. Final message
Focus on these patterns:
これは〜です。
This is ◯◯.
それは〜です。
That is ◯◯.
あれは〜です。
That is ◯◯.
⸻
これは なに ですか？
What is this?
それは〜ですか？
Is that ◯◯?
あれは〜ですか？
Is that ◯◯?
Say these sentences out loud.
Repeat them until you can say them smoothly.