「ここ・そこ・あそこ」Here, there and over there
「ここ・そこ・あそこ」Here, there and over there
Here, there, over there
ここ, そこ and あそこ are words used to refer to places with the meaning of here, there and over there, respectively.
1
ここ refers to a place close to the speaker or where the speaker is.
ここに田中さんの高い車がある。
Tanaka’s expensive car is here.
ここは会社の駐車場だ！
This is the company parking lot!
2
そこ refers to a place that is away from the speaker or close to the listener.
そこは先生の家だ。
That is the teacher’s house.
そこにあの有名な歌手がいる。
That famous singer is there.
3
あそこ refers to a place that is further away from both the speaker and the listener.
あそこの弁当は高いけど、けっこう美味しいです。
The bento over there is expensive, but it’s pretty tasty.
あそこに宝があるけど、罠もあるから危険だ。
There’s treasure over there, but there are also traps, so it’s dangerous.
If you are curious how the demonstratives in Japanese are written in kanji form, here is an overview.
They are only rarely written this way, so you don't need to remember these.
...れ | ...(そ)こ | ...の | ...ちら | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
こ... | 此れ | 此処 | 此の | 此方 |
そ... | 其れ | 其処 | 其の | 其方 |
あ... | 彼れ | 彼処 | 彼の | 彼方 |
ど... | 何れ | 何処 | 何の | 何方 |