Japanese Lesson #3: Demonstrative pronouns
Okay, this is what I had been planning to talk about in the last lesson. XD
In English, we have the pronouns "this" and "that" and their plural forms "these" and "those". "This" and "these" refer to something (or someone) close to the speaker, whereas "that" and "those" refer to something/someone away from the speaker.
In Japanese, there are three "distance levels" rather than just two, and there's no plural form. It's like this:
これ = this/these, close to me (the speaker)
それ = that/those, close to you
あれ = that/those over there, away from us
So, for example, if I'm indicating something close to me, like an object in my hands, I'll refer to it as これ. If I'm indicating something close to the person I'm talking to, I'll refer to it as それ. And if I'm indicating something away from both me and the person I'm talking to, then I'll use あれ.
Example (1)
Ａ：それは なん ですか？ = A: What is that?
Ｂ：これは ほん です。 = B: This is a book.
なん = what
ほん = book
Example (2)
Ａ：あれは なん ですか？ = A: What is that?
Ｂ：あれは つき です。 = B: That is the moon.
つき = moon
This あれ is not to be confused with the interjection "あれ？" which means, "huh?"
Determiners:
When you want to use "this" or "that" before a noun, like, "this book" or "that person", they become what we call "determiners" in English. As you can see, they suffer no alteration in English. In Japanese, however, the words これ, それ and あれ become この, その and あの, respectively.
この ほん = this book
その はこ = that box
あの ひと = that person
はこ = box
ひと = person
Example (1):
これは わたしの ほん です。 = This is my book.
この ほんは わたしの です。 = This book is mine.
Example (2):
それは あなたの ほん です。 = That is your book.
その ほんは あなたの です。 = That book is yours.
Example (3):
あれは せんせいの ほん です。 = That is the teacher's book.
あの ほんは せんせいの です。 = That book is the teacher's.
Example (4):
Ａ：あの ひとは だれ ですか？ = Who is that person?
Ｂ：きくさん です。 = That's Kiku.
だれ = who
This あの is not to be confused with the interjection 「あの・・・」 which is a filler, like the English "er..." or "um..." and is often used to get someone's attention, so that it can sometimes be translated as "excuse me" or "listen".
Example:
あの・・・だいじょうぶ ですか？ = Um... are you okay?
だいじょうぶ = okay, all right, fine, safe
That's it for today! I hope my explanations and examples were clear, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me.
In English, we have the pronouns "this" and "that" and their plural forms "these" and "those". "This" and "these" refer to something (or someone) close to the speaker, whereas "that" and "those" refer to something/someone away from the speaker.
In Japanese, there are three "distance levels" rather than just two, and there's no plural form. It's like this:
これ = this/these, close to me (the speaker)
それ = that/those, close to you
あれ = that/those over there, away from us
So, for example, if I'm indicating something close to me, like an object in my hands, I'll refer to it as これ. If I'm indicating something close to the person I'm talking to, I'll refer to it as それ. And if I'm indicating something away from both me and the person I'm talking to, then I'll use あれ.
Example (1)
Ａ：それは なん ですか？ = A: What is that?
Ｂ：これは ほん です。 = B: This is a book.
なん = what
ほん = book
Example (2)
Ａ：あれは なん ですか？ = A: What is that?
Ｂ：あれは つき です。 = B: That is the moon.
つき = moon
This あれ is not to be confused with the interjection "あれ？" which means, "huh?"
Determiners:
When you want to use "this" or "that" before a noun, like, "this book" or "that person", they become what we call "determiners" in English. As you can see, they suffer no alteration in English. In Japanese, however, the words これ, それ and あれ become この, その and あの, respectively.
この ほん = this book
その はこ = that box
あの ひと = that person
はこ = box
ひと = person
Example (1):
これは わたしの ほん です。 = This is my book.
この ほんは わたしの です。 = This book is mine.
Example (2):
それは あなたの ほん です。 = That is your book.
その ほんは あなたの です。 = That book is yours.
Example (3):
あれは せんせいの ほん です。 = That is the teacher's book.
あの ほんは せんせいの です。 = That book is the teacher's.
Example (4):
Ａ：あの ひとは だれ ですか？ = Who is that person?
Ｂ：きくさん です。 = That's Kiku.
だれ = who
This あの is not to be confused with the interjection 「あの・・・」 which is a filler, like the English "er..." or "um..." and is often used to get someone's attention, so that it can sometimes be translated as "excuse me" or "listen".
Example:
あの・・・だいじょうぶ ですか？ = Um... are you okay?
だいじょうぶ = okay, all right, fine, safe
That's it for today! I hope my explanations and examples were clear, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me.