This, that, that over there — これ・それ・あれ・どれ

Near you, near them, far from both. Four words, one shelf.

In this lesson you will

• Name a thing near you with これ, near the other person with それ, far from both with あれ
• Ask “which one?” with どれ
• Keep は and です: これはお茶です

Today’s scene

How it works

こそあど is a Japanese pointing system. ko- is near the speaker: これ. so- is near the listener: それ. a- is far from both: あれ. do- asks: どれ. English “this / that” collapses three distances into two. If you use これ for everything in reach of your eyes, you will sound like you are claiming other people’s cups.

Grammar is still beginner-01. これはお茶です。それは地図です。あれはおみやげです。どれが地図ですか。 The pointing word is the topic (or the question word). Then です. You can deny with last week’s tool: それは水ではありません。

これ / それ / あれ stand alone. They are the thing. If you need “this tea,” Japanese uses このお茶 — この plus a noun. Beginners mash them: これお茶です. That is two nouns colliding. Either これはお茶です or このお茶です. This lesson owns the standalone set. この is a sister you should recognize, not a third pointing word to panic over.

どれ asks which of a set. If there is only one map on the table, それは地図ですか is enough. If there are three paper things, どれが地図ですか. が often appears with どれ in this question. Do not swap in は by habit yet. We are not doing a は/が essay. We are picking one object from a shelf.

Japanese pointing is a small map of social space, not a translation of English this and that. English gives you two words and a finger. Japanese gives you a speaker zone, a listener zone, a far zone, and a which. If you flatten that into “this = これ, that = それ,” you will call the clerk’s receipt これ while it is still in their hand. That is a small grab. Japanese hears it.

これ is near the speaker. In the dialogue, Sato introduces the tea beside himself with これはお茶です. When the same tea has moved into the explanation as Mina’s “that one you’re showing me,” she uses それ. Distance is not measured in centimeters from a wall. It is measured in whose territory the object sits in. A cup at your elbow is これ. A cup at their elbow is それ. A cup on the far cabinet, owned by nobody in the talk, is あれ. Tourists overuse これ because the object is “here in Japan” in their head. Japan does not care about the country. Japan cares about the table.

あれ is not rude by itself. It is far. Use it for a sign across the lobby, a bottle on a high shelf, a building through the window. Do not use あれ for a thing they are holding; that is それ. Do not use あれ for a person you are introducing; that is a different politeness problem. これは田中さんです can sound like you are labeling a product. At a desk, こちらは田中さんです or この人は田中さんです is safer. This lesson still lets you hear これ as a thing-word so you do not spend a year pointing at humans like luggage.

どれ is the question of the family. 何 is “what.” どれ is “which one” when a set is already in view. それは何ですか about one unknown object. どれが地図ですか when maps, flyers, and a menu are sharing a shelf. You will notice が in どれが. Question words often take が in this pattern. Do not rewrite it to どれは because は feels like last week’s friend. は can appear in other どれ sentences later. This week, copy どれが地図ですか and これです as the short answer.

The copula did not change. これはお茶です is A は B です with A = これ. それは水ではありません is last week’s no with a pointing topic. You are not learning a new verb. You are learning four pronouns that Japanese treats as nouns. That is why これお茶です fails. Two nouns in a pile, no は, no です timing. Either stand-alone これ with は, or この plus the real noun.

この / その / あの are the sisters that must attach to a noun: このお茶, その地図, あのおみやげ. これ already contains “thing.” この needs a thing-word after it. English “this tea” looks like これ茶 to a tired brain. It is このお茶. I mention the sisters so a menu or a clerk’s この袋は？ does not look like a new language. You do not need to drill all six forms today. You need to stop crashing これ into nouns.

Korean speakers: 이거 / 그거 / 저거 is a close cousin, so this lesson should feel fair. Still watch どれ; “which” is not the same as “what.” Chinese speakers: 这 / 那 is often two ways, not three. Add a far あれ as a real third, not as a dramatic 那. English speakers: “that” will try to cover both それ and あれ. Split them or you will point at the wrong shelf. Spanish and Portuguese: este / ese / aquel is a better map than English. Use it. Then still learn Japanese’s speaker-listener rule, which is about people, not only meters. Arabic speakers: demonstratives agree with gender and number; これ does not. One form for one tea or ten teas in this beginner pattern.

Do not use これ for a place. これはロビーです can work if you mean “this (place/thing) is the lobby” in a pinch, but the natural place word is ここ. Next lesson. If you say これ about a restroom down the hall, you sound like you are holding the restroom. You are not.

In the dialogue, watch the baton pass. Sato’s これ is his introduction. Mina’s それ is “that tea you just named.” Her あれ is the far souvenir. どれが地図ですか is the set. Sato’s これです is a short answer — pointing word plus です, noun already known. You will live on short answers in shops: これです, それをお願いします. を arrives in beginner-07. You may hear これをお願いします this week; treat it as a frozen shop line if you need it, not as a grammar you must unpack yet.

Practice: put three objects on a table. Sit on one side. Name yours これ, theirs それ, the far one あれ. Swap seats. The words must swap. If they do not, you are labeling objects in English and pasting Japanese stickers. Record どれが地図ですか and the answer これです. Cover the English. If you hesitate on それ versus あれ, the lesson is not extra vocabulary. It is the map.

You can already say です and ではありません. Pointing is how those landings leave the textbook and touch a shelf. Next, the same ko-so-a-do family for places: ここ, そこ, あそこ, どこ. Same distances. Different nouns. Do not mix a cup with a corridor.

Do a pointing drill that forces the words to move. Place a cup by you, a cup by an empty chair, and a bag across the room. Name them これ, それ, あれ. Stand up, sit in the empty chair, and name them again. If これ stayed on the first cup, you labeled objects in English and glued Japanese on top. Shop audio will throw こちら and そちら at you. こちら can mean this way, this one, or this person, with more courtesy than これ. You may answer これです when they ask which pastry. You may hear そちらでよろしいですか about a payment method. Nod, copy later. Production this week is still これそれあれどれ plus です. どれ vs 何 again, because students smash them on day two. 何ですか asks for a name. どれですか / どれが asks for a choice from a visible set. If only one bottle is on the counter, それは何ですか. If three bottles, どれが水ですか. Using 何 for a which-question makes staff describe the object instead of pointing at one. Do not point at people with これ in a polite room. A suitcase is これ. A guest is not a suitcase. If you must identify a person, wait for こちら and この人. This warning is not extra politeness theater. It is how you avoid sounding like you are selling a human at the shelf. Write four sentences with the same noun お茶 and four pointing words, then a ではありません on the far one if it is not tea. The copula should feel boring. The pointing word should be the only thing that changes. Boredom here is skill.

これ・それ・あれ・どれ

これ this (near me)
それ that (near you)
あれ that over there (near neither of us)
どれ which one?
これ / それ / あれ は noun です。

これ vs この

これ = the thing itself. これはお茶です。
この + noun = this noun. このお茶は緑茶です。
Do not say これお茶です.

Sentences you can use

Close, but not this

OK これはお茶です。
NG これお茶です。

これ is already “this thing.” Glue は (or use このお茶). Do not crash これ into the noun.

OK どれが地図ですか。
NG これが地図ですか。

これが asks “is THIS the map?” about one candidate. どれが asks which among several. Different questions.

Say it out loud

Next week the pointing family moves to places: ここ, そこ, あそこ, どこ. Cups stay これ. Rooms become ここ. Until then, label three objects in the room by distance before you pick up your bag.

Write one sentence today