The Place Words
These are the こ／そ／あ／ど set applied to places. They work exactly like これ・それ・あれ, just for locations rather than objects.
| Word | Distance | English |
|---|---|---|
| ここ | near the speaker | here |
| そこ | near the listener | there |
| あそこ | far from both | over there |
| どこ | question | where? |
Note that あそこ is irregular — the pattern would predict ×あこ.
They Are Nouns
ここ and friends behave as nouns, so they take particles directly:
- ここは静かです。(It's quiet here.)
- そこに置いてください。(Please put it there.)
- あそこで待ちましょう。(Let's wait over there.)
に marks existence or destination; で marks where an action happens.
The Whole こそあど Family
Once you see the pattern, four sets fall out of it at once:
| Thing | Modifier | Place | Direction / polite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near me | これ | この | ここ | こちら |
| Near you | それ | その | そこ | そちら |
| Far | あれ | あの | あそこ | あちら |
| Which | どれ | どの | どこ | どちら |
この・その・あの need a noun after them; これ・それ・あれ and ここ・そこ・あそこ stand alone.
こちら for Politeness
The こちら row is more than direction — it is the polite way to say here and there:
- こちらへどうぞ。(This way, please.)
- お手洗いはあちらです。(The restroom is over there.)
In shops and hotels you will hear こちら far more often than ここ.
Asking Where
どこ is the question word:
- 駅はどこですか。(Where is the station?)
- どこに住んでいますか。(Where do you live?)
The polite version is どちら, which also softens "which of two."