Japanese Grammar 01 – Pronouns & Demonstratives · N5

📋 Formation Reference — Pronouns & Demonstratives

How to use Japanese pronouns and the ko-so-a-do demonstrative system. Press ▶ to hear examples.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
わたし	watashi	I (neutral)
わたくし	watakushi	I (very formal)
ぼく	boku	I (male, casual)
おれ	ore	I (male, very casual)
あなた	anata	you (use sparingly)
きみ	kimi	you (casual, male speech)
かれ	kare	he / boyfriend
かのじょ	kanojo	she / girlfriend
わたしたち	watashitachi	we
かれら	karera	they

KO-SO-A-DO DEMONSTRATIVES

Function	Near speaker (ko-)	Near listener (so-)	Far (a-)	Question (do-)
Thing	これ kore	それ sore	あれ are	どれ dore
+ Noun	この kono	その sono	あの ano	どの dono
Place	ここ koko	そこ soko	あそこ asoko	どこ doko
Direction	こちら kochira	そちら sochira	あちら achira	どちら dochira

🗣 Example Sentences

See how pronouns and demonstratives work in context. Press ▶ to hear each sentence.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Example

わたしはがくせいです。

Watashi wa gakusei desu.

I am a student.

わたしはがくせいです

watashi wa gakusei desu

→ "I am a student."

Example

かれはにほんじんです。

Kare wa nihonjin desu.

He is Japanese.

KO-SO-A-DO IN ACTION

Thing

これはなんですか。

Kore wa nan desu ka.

What is this?

これはなんですか

kore wa nan desu ka

→ "What is this (near me)?"

Thing

それはわたしのかばんです。

Sore wa watashi no kaban desu.

That is my bag.

+ Noun

あのひとはだれですか。

Ano hito wa dare desu ka.

Who is that person over there?

あのひとはだれですか

ano hito wa dare desu ka

→ "Who is that person (far away)?"

PLACE & DIRECTION

Place

ここはとしょかんです。

Koko wa toshokan desu.

This place is a library.

Place

どこにすんでいますか。

Doko ni sunde imasu ka.

Where do you live?

Direction

どちらさまですか。

Dochira-sama desu ka.

Who is this? (polite — phone/door)

📋 Quick-Reference Cheatsheet ▼

これ vs この — standalone vs pre-noun

✅ CORRECT

これはほんです。

Kore wa hon desu.

This is a book.

これ stands alone as "this thing"

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

これほんはおもしろいです。

Kore hon wa omoshiroi desu.

This book is interesting.

Use この before a noun: このほんはおもしろいです。

Pronoun avoidance — drop when context is clear

✅ NATURAL

がくせいです。

Gakusei desu.

(I) am a student.

Context makes "I" obvious — no pronoun needed

❌ UNNATURAL

わたしはがくせいです。(every sentence)

Watashi wa gakusei desu.

I am a student.

Repeating わたし constantly sounds robotic in Japanese

あなた warning — often rude in Japanese

✅ POLITE

たなかさんはせんせいですか。

Tanaka-san wa sensei desu ka.

Are you a teacher, Tanaka?

Use name + さん instead of あなた

❌ RUDE

あなたはせんせいですか。

Anata wa sensei desu ka.

Are you a teacher?

あなた can sound confrontational — avoid with strangers

～たち for plural pronouns

✅ CORRECT

わたしたちはがくせいです。

Watashitachi wa gakusei desu.

We are students.

Add ～たち to make pronouns plural

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

かれらたちはがくせいです。

Kareratachi wa gakusei desu.

They are students.

かれら already means "they" — don't double-pluralise

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

tap to flip

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B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

📖 Grammar Deep Dive ▼

The Ko-So-A-Do distance system

Japanese demonstratives are organised into four groups based on physical or psychological distance: • Ko- (これ, この, ここ, こちら) — near the speaker • So- (それ, その, そこ, そちら) — near the listener • A- (あれ, あの, あそこ, あちら) — far from both • Do- (どれ, どの, どこ, どちら) — question words This maps loosely to English "this / that / that over there / which?", but the so- vs a- distinction (near you vs far from both) has no direct English equivalent.

[ko/so/a/do] れ / の / こ / ちら

[ko/so/a/do] re / no / ko / chira

→ thing / +noun / place / direction

これはわたしのです。それはあなたのです。

Kore wa watashi no desu. Sore wa anata no desu.

This one is mine. That one (near you) is yours.

Why Japanese avoids pronouns

Unlike English, Japanese is a "pro-drop" language — pronouns are routinely omitted when the meaning is clear from context. Overusing わたし or あなた sounds unnatural and even rude. In conversation, once the topic is established, the pronoun is dropped: • First mention: わたしはたなかです。(I am Tanaka.) • After that: がくせいです。((I) am a student.) — no わたし needed Think of it this way: if the listener already knows who you're talking about, saying the pronoun again is redundant.

A:「おなまえは？」B:「たなかです。がくせいです。」

A: "Onamae wa?" B: "Tanaka desu. Gakusei desu."

A: "Your name?" B: "(I'm) Tanaka. (I'm) a student."

The あなた problem: when NOT to use "you"

あなた is the textbook word for "you", but in real life it can sound rude, cold, or confrontational — especially with strangers or superiors. Native speakers almost never use it. • Instead, use the person's name + さん: たなかさんは… • In questions, simply drop the subject: せんせいですか。("Are (you) a teacher?") • あなた is mainly used by wives addressing husbands (like "dear"), or in written surveys.

すずきさんはどこにすんでいますか。

Suzuki-san wa doko ni sunde imasu ka.

Where do you live, Suzuki? (polite and natural)

これ / それ / あれ for shared knowledge

Beyond physical distance, the ko-so-a-do system is also used for shared knowledge in conversation: • あれ — something both speakers know about (shared memory): あれ、おぼえてる？ ("Remember that thing?") • それ — something only the listener knows, or was just mentioned by the listener • これ — something the speaker is about to introduce or just mentioned themselves This "psychological distance" usage is very common in daily conversation.

あれ、たのしかったね。

Are, tanoshikatta ne.

That (thing we both know about) was fun, wasn't it?

こちら / そちら as polite alternatives

The ～ちら forms (こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら) are the polite versions of ここ, そこ, あそこ, どこ. They are used in formal settings such as business, customer service, and phone calls. • どちら can mean "where" (polite) or "which one (of two)" • こちら is also used to introduce people: こちらはたなかさんです。("This is Mr Tanaka.") • どちらさま is the polite "who are you?" (at a door or on the phone)

こちらは [NAME] さんです

kochira wa [name] san desu

→ "This is Mr/Ms [name]." (polite introduction)

こちらはやまださんです。

Kochira wa Yamada-san desu.

This is Mr Yamada. (polite introduction)

📝 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	English
わたし	watashi	I (neutral)
あなた	anata	you
かれ	kare	he / boyfriend
かのじょ	kanojo	she / girlfriend
これ	kore	this (thing)
それ	sore	that (near you)
あれ	are	that (over there)
ここ	koko	here
そこ	soko	there (near you)
どこ	doko	where?