この・その・あの・どの – Using ‘This / That / Which’ with Nouns in Japanese [JLPT N5]

Quick Summary

• Meaning: この (kono), その (sono), あの (ano), どの (dono) mean “this / that / which” when they come directly before a noun.
• How to Use: Put この・その・あの・どの in front of a noun (N) to point to a specific thing or person.

Example:

• この猫は先生です。
• Kono neko wa sensei desu.
• This cat is a teacher.

Overview

In English, you say “this pen”, “that book”, or “which bag?”. In Japanese, you do almost the same thing with この (kono, this), その (sono, that), あの (ano, that over there), and どの (dono, which).

These words always come directly in front of a noun, like ペン (pen, pen) or 本 (hon, book). They work just like “this / that / which” in English:

• このペン (kono pen) – this pen
• その本 (sono hon) – that book
• あの犬 (ano inu) – that dog over there
• どのかばん (dono kaban) – which bag

The nuance is about distance and who is “close” to the thing:

• この: “this” – close to the speaker (me).
• その: “that” – close to the listener (you) or something you both know about.
• あの: “that over there” – far from both speaker and listener.
• どの: “which” – used in questions.

Imagine you and your friend are looking at three strange objects: one is in your hand, one is in your friend’s hand, and one is on a flying robot across the room. You could say:

• このボタン (kono botan, this button) – the one in your hand
• そのボタン (sono botan, that button) – the one in your friend’s hand
• あのボタン (ano botan, that button over there) – the one on the robot

Important: この・その・あの・どの are not stand-alone words. They must be followed by a noun. You cannot say “このです” to mean “This is it.” For that, Japanese uses different words: これ (kore, this), それ (sore, that), あれ (are, that over there), どれ (dore, which). We will focus only on **この・その・あの・どの + noun** here.

Even at JLPT N5 level, these four little words appear everywhere: in shops, in anime, in everyday speech. Mastering them early will make your Japanese sound much more natural and clear.

• このカエルは社長です。
• Kono kaeru wa shachou desu.
• This frog is the company president.

Structure / Formation

Basic Pattern

The core pattern is very simple:

• この + N – this + noun (near the speaker)
• その + N – that + noun (near the listener, or already known)
• あの + N – that + noun over there (far from both)
• どの + N – which + noun (used in questions)

In shorthand form using N (noun):

• この + N
• その + N
• あの + N
• どの + N + か (for questions)

Each of these combinations (like この本, その人, あの山, どの映画) then behaves like a normal noun phrase. You can add particles like は, が, を, に after it.

For example:

• このロボットは学生です。
• Kono robotto wa gakusei desu.
• This robot is a student.

Distance and “Belonging” Nuance

Think of a simple map with you and your friend:

Word	Main idea	Typical situation	Example phrase
この	this	Near me, or “my side”/“my thing”	このペン (kono pen, this pen)
その	that	Near you, or “your side”/already mentioned	そのノート (sono nooto, that notebook)
あの	that over there	Far from both people, or in the distance	あの山 (ano yama, that mountain over there)
どの	which	Used in questions to choose from several	どの映画 (dono eiga, which movie)

Some fun, simple examples:

• その帽子は宇宙人のです。
• Sono boushi wa uchuujin no desu.
• That hat is the alien’s.

• あのバスは動きません。
• Ano basu wa ugokimasen.
• That bus over there does not move.

Using どの in Questions

どの (dono) always comes before a noun and is used to ask “which”. The whole phrase is then followed by the usual question marker か.

Basic pattern:

• どの + N + が / を / ですか

Example:

• どの猫が社長ですか。
• Dono neko ga shachou desu ka.
• Which cat is the company president?

この / その / あの / どの vs. これ / それ / あれ / どれ (Preview)

For now, remember this simple rule:

• この / その / あの / どの + N – must be followed by a noun.
• これ / それ / あれ / どれ – stand alone, no noun after them.

In this article, we focus only on the + N pattern. When you want to point at a specific thing, just think:

• Pick the right “this/that/which” (この / その / あの / どの).
• Add the noun (N).
• Add the particle you need (は, が, を, に, etc.).

Example:

• このゲームを毎日します。
• Kono geemu o mainichi shimasu.
• I play this game every day.

With this basic structure in mind, you are ready to start using この・その・あの・どの in your own sentences and have fun pointing at every strange cat, robot, and alien around you in Japanese.

Example Sentences

• この先生はロボットです。
• Kono sensei wa robotto desu.
• This teacher is a robot.

• そのメガネをかけると、犬が日本語を話します。
• Sono megane o kakeru to, inu ga Nihongo o hanashimasu.
• When you put on those glasses, the dog speaks Japanese.

• あのビルの上にいる猫は市長です。
• Ano biru no ue ni iru neko wa shichou desu.
• The cat on top of that building over there is the mayor.

• どのボタンをおすと、時間が止まりますか。
• Dono botan o osu to, jikan ga tomarimasu ka.
• Which button do I press to stop time?

• このかばんは私のですが、そのかばんは宇宙人のです。
• Kono kaban wa watashi no desu ga, sono kaban wa uchuujin no desu.
• This bag is mine, but that bag is the alien’s.

Quick Practice

(Answers and explanations are right under this section.)

Multiple-Choice

1. Choose the best option: “This cat is my teacher.”

• A. この猫は私の先生です。(Kono neko wa watashi no sensei desu.)
• B. これ猫は私の先生です。(Kore neko wa watashi no sensei desu.)
• C. その猫は私の先生です。(Sono neko wa watashi no sensei desu.)
• D. この猫と私の先生です。(Kono neko to watashi no sensei desu.)

2. You are talking to your friend. The game is in your friend’s hands. Choose the best sentence: “That game is very easy.”

• A. このゲームはとてもやさしいです。(Kono geemu wa totemo yasashii desu.)
• B. そのゲームはとてもやさしいです。(Sono geemu wa totemo yasashii desu.)
• C. あのゲームはとてもやさしいです。(Ano geemu wa totemo yasashii desu.)
• D. どのゲームはとてもやさしいです。(Dono geemu wa totemo yasashii desu.)

3. Choose the correct question: “Which robot is your older sister?”

• A. どのロボットはお姉さんですか。(Dono robotto wa oneesan desu ka.)
• B. どれロボットはお姉さんですか。(Dore robotto wa oneesan desu ka.)
• C. このロボットかお姉さんですか。(Kono robotto ka oneesan desu ka.)
• D. あのロボットやお姉さんですか。(Ano robotto ya oneesan desu ka.)

4. You and your friend see a mountain far away. Choose the best sentence: “That mountain over there is a famous singer.”

• A. この山は有名な歌手です。(Kono yama wa yuumei na kashu desu.)
• B. その山は有名な歌手です。(Sono yama wa yuumei na kashu desu.)
• C. あの山は有名な歌手です。(Ano yama wa yuumei na kashu desu.)
• D. 山はあの有名な歌手です。(Yama wa ano yuumei na kashu desu.)

5. Choose the most natural sentence using この・その・あの correctly.

• A. このはゲームです。(Kono wa geemu desu.)
• B. その犬は私の友だちです。(Sono inu wa watashi no tomodachi desu.)
• C. あれ猫はとても静かです。(Are neko wa totemo shizuka desu.)
• D. どのは宇宙人です。(Dono wa uchuujin desu.)

Spot-the-Error

6. One sentence below has an error with この・その・あの・どの. Which sentence is incorrect?

• A. この本はロボットの自伝です。(Kono hon wa robotto no jiden desu.)
• B. それノートは魔法のノートです。(Sore nooto wa mahou no nooto desu.)
• C. あの先生は毎朝空を飛びます。(Ano sensei wa mai asa sora o tobimasu.)

7. One sentence below has an error with どの. Which sentence is incorrect?

• A. どの映画が一番こわいですか。(Dono eiga ga ichiban kowai desu ka.)
• B. どれペンを使いますか。(Dore pen o tsukaimasu ka.)
• C. どのかばんにドラゴンがいますか。(Dono kaban ni doragon ga imasu ka.)

Translation

8. Translate into Japanese using the correct word for “this”: “This hat is my grandpa’s.”

9. Translate into Japanese using the correct word for “that” (near the listener): “Is that phone your dragon’s?”

10. Translate into Japanese using どの: “Which notebook is the alien’s?”

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Answers and Explanations

1. この猫は私の先生です。(Kono neko wa watashi no sensei desu.) – この must be followed by a noun and “this cat” matches the English meaning.
2. そのゲームはとてもやさしいです。(Sono geemu wa totemo yasashii desu.) – その refers to something near the listener, like the game in your friend’s hands.
3. どのロボットはお姉さんですか。(Dono robotto wa oneesan desu ka.) – どの must be followed by a noun, so どのロボット is correct.
4. あの山は有名な歌手です。(Ano yama wa yuumei na kashu desu.) – あの is used for something far from both speaker and listener, like a distant mountain.
5. その犬は私の友だちです。(Sono inu wa watashi no tomodachi desu.) – その is correctly placed before the noun 犬, and the sentence is grammatically natural.
6. それノートは魔法のノートです。(Sore nooto wa mahou no nooto desu.) – It should be そのノート; それ cannot go directly before a noun.
7. どれペンを使いますか。(Dore pen o tsukaimasu ka.) – It should be どのペン; どれ does not go in front of a noun.
8. この帽子はおじいさんのです。(Kono boushi wa ojiisan no desu.) – この correctly marks “this hat” near the speaker.
9. その電話はあなたのドラゴンのですか。(Sono denwa wa anata no doragon no desu ka.) – その is used for “that” near the listener, and the rest is a simple possession pattern.
10. どのノートが宇宙人のですか。(Dono nooto ga uchuujin no desu ka.) – どの comes before the noun ノート to ask “which notebook.”