The Ko-So-A-Do System

Basic Japanese Lessons

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Updated on November 04, 2019

Japanese has sets of words which are based on the physical distance between the speaker and the listener. They are called "ko-so-a-do words" because the first syllable is always either ko-, so-, a-, or do-. "Ko-words" refer to things nearer to the speaker, "So-words" to things nearer to the listener, "A-words" to things that are at distance from both the speaker and the listener, and "Do-words" are questions words.

Please look at the picture above and see the following conversation among animals.

The Ko-So-A-Do System

Kuma: Kore wa oishii na.
Risu: Honto, sore wa oishisou da ne.
Nezumi: Ano kaki mo oishisou da yo.
Tanuki: Dore ni shiyou kana.

くま: これはおいしいな。
りす: ほんと、それはおいしそうだね。
ねずみ: あのかきもおいしそうだよ。
たぬき: どれにしようかな。

(1) kono/sono/ano/dono + [Noun]

They cannot be used on their own. They have to be followed by the noun that they modify.

kono hon この本	this book
sono hon その本	that book
ano hon あの本	that book over there
dono hon どの本	which book

(2) kore/sore/are/dore

They cannot be followed by a noun. They can be replaced with kono/sono/ano/dono + [Noun] when the things indicated are obvious.

Kono hon o yomimashita. この本を読みました。	I read this book.
Kore o yomimashita. これを読みました。	I read this.

(3) Ko-so-a-do Chart

	ko-	so-	a-	do-
thing	kono + [Noun] この	sono + [Noun] その	ano + [Noun] あの	dono + [Noun] どの
	kore これ	sore それ	are あれ	dore どれ
place	koko ここ	soko そこ	asoko あそこ	doko どこ
direction	kochira こちら	sochira そちら	achira あちら	dochira どちら

The "kochira" group can be used as the polite equivalent of the "kore" or "koko" group. These expressions are often used by employees in the service industries. Click here to check out a lesson for shopping.

Kore wa ikaga desu ka. これはいかがですか。	How about this one?
Kochira wa ikaga desu ka. こちらはいかがですか。	How about this one? (more polite)
Asoko de omachi kudasai. あそこでお待ちください。	Please wait over there.
Achira de omachi kudasai. あちらでお待ちください。	Please wait over there. (more polite)