We have 2 different

What is this?
This, That, It
That (distant)
That (less distant) / It
This (close)
Singular
あれ [are]
それ [sore]
これ [kore]
Plural
あれら [arera]
それら [sorera]
これら [korera]
object
you
あれ
Far
you
object
それ
(The distance of object from you)
you
object
これ
Close
We have 2 different “that” in Japanese.
One is distant, another one is less distant.
See the figure above.
TIP
• Even though we have plural form (Those, These), we don’t really
use them in conversation since it is not common in Japanese
language. So you can use “あれ” for “those” for example.
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1
What is this?
What is this?
Polite
これは何ですか？
（これはなんですか？）
[kore wa nan desuka]
Casual
これ何？
（これなに？）
[ko nani]
What is that?
Polite
あれは何ですか？
（あれはなんですか？）
[kore wa nan desuka]
Casual
あれ何？
（あれなに？）
[are nani]
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2
What is this?
This is A.
Polite
これは A です。
[kore wa nan desuka]
Casual
これは A だよ。
[ko wa A dayo]
That is B.
Polite
あれは B です。
[kore wa B desu]
Casual
あれは B だよ。
[are wa B dayo]
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3
What is this?
Example
Polite
1. すいません、あれは何ですか？
（すいません、あれはなんですか?）
[suimasen, are nan desuka] = Excuse me, what is that?
2. あぁ、あれはスーパーですよ。最近できたみたいです。
(あぁ、あれはすーぱーですよ。さいきんできたみたいです。)
[aa, are wa su-pa- desuyo. Saikin dekita mitai desu.]
=Ah, that’s a supermarket. It seems it opened lately.)
Example
Casual
1. ねぇねぇ、あれ何？（ねぇねぇ、あれなに?）
[nee nee, are nani] = Hey, what’s that?
2. あぁ、あれはスーパーだよ。最近できたみたい。
(あぁ、あれはすーぱーだよ。さいきんできたみたい。)
[aa, are wa su-pa-. Saikin dekita mitai.]
=Ah, that’s a supermarket. It seems it opened lately.)
•
最近（さいきん） [saikin] = lately
•
できた [dekita] = built, finished
•
~みたい [~mitai] = It seems ~
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4

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