Japanese - Grammar Reference
「それ」For that
「それ」For that
That (near the listener)
それ is one of the four demonstratives これ this、それ that、あれ that over there and どれ which.
Unlike これ, which is used when the object in question is near the speaker or both the speaker and listener, それ is used when the object is closer to the listener or belongs to the listener (such as when they are using it or borrowing it).
それはあなたのカバンですか？
Is that your bag?
それは山田さんの古い車なんですよ！
That is Yamada-san's old car!
Special Note
Try to make a mental note of そ being associated with something a bit away or close to the listener, as this pattern is used again with other words. If you are curious about how the demonstratives in Japanese are written in kanji, here is a small table:
...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 |
Special Note
In Japanese, demonstratives like this are called 指示語.