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JLPT N5Demonstratives

ここ / そこ / あそこ— Here / There / Over There

The location words of the こそあど system. ここ = near the speaker, そこ = near the listener, あそこ = far from both, どこ = where?

Grammar path · 練習

Practice this in the path

A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 21 · DEMONSTRATIVES

Structure · 形

ここ (near me) / そこ (near you) / あそこ (far from both) / どこ (where?)

Examples · 例文

  • ここはどこですか。

    Koko wa doko desu ka.

    Where is this place? / Where am I?

    ここ (this place, near me) + は + どこ (where) + ですか

  • ペンはそこにあります。

    Pen wa soko ni arimasu.

    The pen is there (near you).

    ペンは (the pen) + そこに (there, near you) + あります

  • トイレはあそこです。

    Toire wa asoko desu.

    The bathroom is over there.

    あそこ (over there — far from both speaker and listener) + です

Usage notes · 注意

  • The こ・そ・あ・ど series: こ (near me), そ (near you), あ (far from both), ど (question). It applies to location (ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ), things (これ・それ・あれ・どれ), and direction/politer things (こちら・そちら・あちら・どちら). • Note the 'far' location is あそこ (irregular), not あこ.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ここ is tested against.

vsこれ / それ / あれ

ここ series points to places ('here/there'); これ series points to objects ('this/that thing'). Same こそあど prefixes, different nouns.

vsこの / その / あの

ここ etc. stand alone as 'place' nouns; この etc. are adjectives that must attach to a noun (この本 'this book').

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