これ・それ・あれ・どれ – Saying ‘This / That / Which One’ in Japanese [JLPT N5]

Quick Summary

Meaning: これ (kore), それ (sore), あれ (are), and どれ (dore) all mean “this / that / which (one)” when you are talking about things, not people’s names or places.

How to Use: Use これ for something near you, それ for something near the listener, あれ for something far from both of you, and どれ to ask “which one?”.

Example:

• これは先生のロボットです。
• Kore wa sensei no robotto desu.
• This is the teacher’s robot.

Overview

When you speak Japanese, you often need to say “this”, “that”, “that over there”, or “which (one)?”. In English, you choose based on distance: “this” is close to you, “that” is farther away. Japanese does something similar, but with three levels of distance, and a special word to ask questions.

The basic idea is:

• これ (kore) – “this (thing)” near the speaker (near me).
• それ (sore) – “that (thing)” near the listener (near you).
• あれ (are) – “that (thing) over there” far from both people.
• どれ (dore) – “which (thing)?” when there are choices.

All four words are called demonstratives. They “point” at something, just like your finger or your eyes do. If you and your friend look at a strange cat dancing on a table, you can use これ, それ, or あれ to say exactly where the cat is relative to you and your friend.

At this beginner level, it is important to remember two things:

• These words already include the meaning “thing / one”. So これ is like saying “this one / this thing”.
• They are used with the particle は or が just like a normal noun: “This is …”, “That is …”.

Also, there is a simple pattern to remember:

• Words with ko- (こ) usually mean “near me”.
• Words with so- (そ) usually mean “near you”.
• Words with a- (あ) usually mean “over there / away from us”.
• Words with do- (ど) are usually the question versions (“which / what / where / who?”).

Once you get used to これ・それ・あれ・どれ, many other similar patterns in Japanese will feel much easier.

Structure / Formation

Basic Patterns

As a beginner, you will mostly use これ・それ・あれ・どれ in simple “A is B” sentences. The basic formulas are:

• これ / それ / あれ + は + N + です
• これは N ですか。
• どれ + が + N + ですか。

Here, N means any noun, for example: 本 (hon, book), ペン (pen, pen), いぬ (inu, dog), ケーキ (keeki, cake).

Use these patterns to say things like “This is my pen”, “That is a cake”, or to ask “Which one is your dog?”.

How to Choose これ・それ・あれ

The main point is position: where is the object compared to you and the other person?

Word	Romaji	English meaning	Position
これ	kore	this (thing)	Near me (the speaker)
それ	sore	that (thing)	Near you (the listener)
あれ	are	that (thing) over there	Far from both of us

You usually use them with the particle は to introduce what you are talking about.

Examples:

• これは宇宙のラーメンです。
• Kore wa uchuu no raamen desu.
• This is space ramen.

• それはおじいさんのギターです。
• Sore wa ojiisan no gitaa desu.
• That is Grandpa’s guitar.

• あれはロボットのねこです。
• Are wa robotto no neko desu.
• That over there is a robot cat.

In all these sentences, これ・それ・あれ are used like nouns. You do not need to add もの (mono, thing) or anything else after them.

Using どれ to Ask “Which One?”

どれ is the question word of this group. Use it when there are several objects and you want to know which one someone means.

Word	Romaji	Type	English meaning
どれ	dore	Question word	which (thing) / which one

A common basic pattern is:

• どれ + が + N + ですか。

Use が to mark the thing that matches the noun.

Example:

• どれが先生のバイクですか。
• Dore ga sensei no baiku desu ka.
• Which one is the teacher’s motorbike?

After someone answers with これ・それ・あれ, you can follow up with the same basic “A is B” pattern:

• これは先生のバイクです。
• Kore wa sensei no baiku desu.
• This is the teacher’s motorbike.

Pattern Summary

Here is a quick summary of the most useful beginner patterns with these words:

Pattern	Romaji pattern	Meaning
これは N です。	Kore wa N desu.	This is N.
それは N です。	Sore wa N desu.	That is N. (near you)
あれは N です。	Are wa N desu.	That (over there) is N.
これは N ですか。	Kore wa N desu ka.	Is this N?
どれが N ですか。	Dore ga N desu ka.	Which one is N?

Usage Tips

To avoid confusion, keep these beginner tips in mind:

• Always think: Where is the object? Near me (これ), near you (それ), far from both (あれ)?
• Remember that all four already include the idea of “thing / one”. You do not say ×これのペンです to mean “This is a pen.” You just say これはペンです (Kore wa pen desu, This is a pen.).
• Use どれ only when there are several choices. If there is only one object, you normally wouldn’t ask どれ.

Once these feel natural, you will be ready to expand to related patterns like この (kono, this <noun>), その (sono, that <noun>), and あの (ano, that <noun> over there), which combine directly with a noun. But first, get comfortable pointing at the world with これ・それ・あれ・どれ.

Example Sentences

• これは宇宙人のスマホです。
• Kore wa uchuujin no sumaho desu.
• This is an alien’s smartphone.

• それはロボットのケーキですか。
• Sore wa robotto no keeki desu ka.
• Is that a robot’s cake?

• あれは空をとぶねこのバスです。
• Are wa sora o tobu neko no basu desu.
• That over there is a flying cat bus.

• どれがおじいさんのマジックハットですか。
• Dore ga ojiisan no majikku hatto desu ka.
• Which one is Grandpa’s magic hat?

• これは私のペンですか、それとも先生のペンですか。
• Kore wa watashi no pen desu ka, soretomo sensei no pen desu ka.
• Is this my pen, or is it the teacher’s pen?

Quick Practice

(Answers and explanations are right under this section.)

Multiple-Choice

1. Choose the best sentence for “This is my cake.”

• A. これは私のケーキです。(Kore wa watashi no keeki desu.)
• B. それは私のケーキです。(Sore wa watashi no keeki desu.)
• C. あれは私のケーキです。(Are wa watashi no keeki desu.)
• D. これは私のケーキとです。(Kore wa watashi no keeki to desu.)

2. Your friend is holding a strange robot pen. You want to ask, “Is that your pen?” What is the best sentence?

• A. これはあなたのペンですか。(Kore wa anata no pen desu ka.)
• B. それはあなたのペンですか。(Sore wa anata no pen desu ka.)
• C. あれはあなたのペンですか。(Are wa anata no pen desu ka.)
• D. それがあなたのペンとですか。(Sore ga anata no pen to desu ka.)

3. You and your friend are looking at many hats on a table. How do you politely ask “Which one is the magician’s hat?”

• A. どれはマジシャンのぼうしですか。(Dore wa majishan no boushi desu ka.)
• B. どのがマジシャンのぼうしですか。(Dono ga majishan no boushi desu ka.)
• C. どれがマジシャンのぼうしですか。(Dore ga majishan no boushi desu ka.)
• D. どれやマジシャンのぼうしですか。(Dore ya majishan no boushi desu ka.)

4. Choose the correct sentence to say “That over there is Grandpa’s UFO.”

• A. これはおじいさんのUFOです。(Kore wa ojiisan no yuu-efu-oo desu.)
• B. それはおじいさんのUFOです。(Sore wa ojiisan no yuu-efu-oo desu.)
• C. あれはおじいさんのUFOです。(Are wa ojiisan no yuu-efu-oo desu.)
• D. どれはおじいさんのUFOです。(Dore wa ojiisan no yuu-efu-oo desu.)

5. You and your friend are sitting at a table. A slice of pizza is in front of your friend. Choose the best sentence for “That is monster pizza.”

• A. これはモンスターのピザです。(Kore wa monsutaa no piza desu.)
• B. それはモンスターのピザです。(Sore wa monsutaa no piza desu.)
• C. あれはモンスターのピザです。(Are wa monsutaa no piza desu.)
• D. それやモンスターのピザです。(Sore ya monsutaa no piza desu.)

Spot-the-Error

6. One of these sentences has an error with これ・それ・あれ・どれ. Which one is wrong?

• A. これは私のドラゴンのえんぴつです。(Kore wa watashi no doragon no enpitsu desu.)
• B. どれは先生のコーヒーですか。(Dore wa sensei no koohii desu ka.)
• C. あれはねこのバイクです。(Are wa neko no baiku desu.)

7. One of these sentences has an error with how これ・それ・あれ are used in the sentence. Which one is wrong?

• A. それはロボットのラジオですか。(Sore wa robotto no rajio desu ka.)
• B. これはゆうれいのスマホです。(Kore wa yuurei no sumaho desu.)
• C. これはねこのとです。(Kore wa neko no to desu.)

Translation

8. Translate into Japanese using これ: “Is this my umbrella, or is it your umbrella?”

9. Translate into Japanese using どれ: “Which one is the robot’s book?”

10. Translate into Japanese using それ: “That is my brother’s game.”

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Answers and Explanations

1. これは私のケーキです。(Kore wa watashi no keeki desu.) – Use これ for something near the speaker, and no extra particle like と after ケーキ is needed.
2. それはあなたのペンですか。(Sore wa anata no pen desu ka.) – Use それ for an object near the listener (the friend who is holding the pen).
3. どれがマジシャンのぼうしですか。(Dore ga majishan no boushi desu ka.) – With どれ, use が to ask which one matches the noun.
4. あれはおじいさんのUFOです。(Are wa ojiisan no yuu-efu-oo desu.) – あれ is used for something far from both the speaker and listener.
5. それはモンスターのピザです。(Sore wa monsutaa no piza desu.) – The pizza is in front of your friend, so それ (near the listener) is correct.
6. どれは先生のコーヒーですか。(Dore wa sensei no koohii desu ka.) – With どれ you should use が, not は, so this is the incorrect sentence.
7. これはねこのとです。(Kore wa neko no to desu.) – You cannot put と after ねこの here; これはねこのです would be correct, so this sentence is wrong.
8. これは私のかさですか、それともあなたのかさですか。(Kore wa watashi no kasa desu ka, soretomo anata no kasa desu ka.) – これは refers to “this” near the speaker, and それとも links the two polite questions.
9. どれがロボットの本ですか。(Dore ga robotto no hon desu ka.) – Use どれが N ですか to ask “Which one is N?”
10. それは弟のゲームです。(Sore wa otouto no geemu desu.) – Use それ for something near the listener, and の marks “brother’s” before ゲーム.