これ・それ・あれ: This, That, That Over There | Japanese Grammar

これ, それ, and あれ are the pronoun row of the こそあど grid. They mean "this one," "that one," and "that one over there" — full noun phrases that stand entirely on their own. Master these four words and you can point at anything and ask what it is, whose it is, or how much it costs.

The four members

Word	Meaning	Where the thing is
これ	this one	near the speaker (by me)
それ	that one	near the listener (by you), or just mentioned
あれ	that one over there	far from both of us, or a shared memory
どれ	which one	the question form (choosing among three or more)

Because these are pronouns, they slot into a sentence exactly where a noun would — as the topic, the subject, or the object.

これは何ですか。

kore wa nan desu ka

What is this?

それは私のです。

sore wa watashi no desu

That one (by you) is mine.

あれはビルです。

are wa biru desu

That over there is a building.

Notice that それ and あれ both come out as "that" in English. This is the two-way/three-way clash from the overview: English lumps them together, but Japanese keeps them apart based on who the thing is near. If it is by the person you are talking to, it is それ; if it is away from both of you, it is あれ. For a full drill on choosing between them, see これ・それ・あれ and ここ・そこ・あそこ.

The most important rule on this page: これ is NOT この

Here is the single distinction that derails almost every beginner. これ・それ・あれ are pronouns and cannot be followed by a noun. They already are the noun. To say "this book," you do not put これ in front of 本 — you switch to the modifier row (この).

✅ これは本です。

kore wa hon desu

This is a book. (これ is the whole subject)

✅ この本は面白いです。

kono hon wa omoshiroi desu

This book is interesting. (この attaches to 本)

❌ これ本は面白いです。

Incorrect — これ cannot modify a noun; that is この's job.

Think of it like the difference between English "mine" and "my": you say "this is mine" but "my book," never "this is my" or "mine book." これ is "this one"; この is "this ~." They are two different words that happen to share a stem. This split is important enough that it has its own comparison — the この・その・あの page teaches the mirror image, and reading the two together is the fastest way to make it stick.

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Quick test: if an English "this/that" is immediately followed by a noun ("this pen," "that person"), you need この/その/あの. If it stands alone ("what is this?", "that is expensive"), you need これ/それ/あれ.

Everyday uses

In real conversation these words do a huge amount of work — shopping, asking for things, checking vocabulary. Here they are in natural settings.

Asking a price in a shop (informal but polite enough in casual stores):

これ、いくらですか。

kore, ikura desu ka

How much is this?

Asking someone to pass you something (informal):

ごめん、それ取ってくれる？

gomen, sore totte kureru

Sorry — can you pass me that?

Reacting to something in the distance (informal):

あれ、おいしそうじゃない？

are, oishisō ja nai

Doesn't that look delicious?

Learning vocabulary — one of the most useful sentences a beginner can own:

これは日本語で何と言いますか。

kore wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka

What is this called in Japanese?

Choosing among options with どれ:

どれがいちばん安いですか。

dore ga ichiban yasui desu ka

Which one is the cheapest?

どれ vs どっち — two versus three

どれ asks you to pick from three or more options. When there are exactly two things to choose between, Japanese switches to どっち (informal) or どちら (formal), the direction-row question word.

コーヒーと紅茶、どっちがいい？

kōhī to kōcha, dotchi ga ii

Coffee or tea — which would you like? (two options, informal)

赤と青と緑、どれが好き？

aka to ao to midori, dore ga suki

Red, blue, or green — which do you like? (three options)

それ in conversation, not just in the room

それ is not only for objects physically beside the listener. It is also the default word for something the listener just said or brought up — an idea, a plan, a piece of information. Because the referent came out of the other person's mouth, it lives in their conversational sphere, so そ- is the natural choice.

それはいい考えですね。

sore wa ii kangae desu ne

That's a good idea (the one you just proposed).

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When you agree with something the other person just said, the reflex word is そう ("that's right"), never ×ああ — the idea belongs to the conversation you two are having, i.e. the listener's そ- sphere. Saying あれ or ああ there is a classic sign of mapping Japanese onto a two-way English "that."

When the thing is instead a memory you both hold, it shifts to あれ. This discourse layer is developed on its own page — see こそあ in discourse.

Common mistakes

❌ これ本をください。

Incorrect — これ is a pronoun; you cannot glue a noun onto it.

✅ この本をください。

kono hon o kudasai

This book, please.

❌ あれは君の携帯でしょ？（携帯は相手の手の中）

Incorrect — the phone is in the listener's hand, so it belongs to the listener's sphere.

✅ それは君の携帯でしょ？

sore wa kimi no keitai desho

That's your phone, right? (it's right there by you)

❌ りんごとバナナ、どれがいい？

Incorrect — with only two choices, use どっち/どちら, not どれ.

✅ りんごとバナナ、どっちがいい？

ringo to banana, dotchi ga ii

An apple or a banana — which would you like?

❌ 「新しい店ができたよ。」「あれ、行ってみたい。」（まだ二人とも見ていない、初めて聞いた話）

Incorrect — the shop was just introduced by the listener and neither of you has seen it, so it is それ, not the shared-memory あれ.

✅ 「新しい店ができたよ。」「それ、行ってみたい。」

atarashii mise ga dekita yo — sore, itte mitai

'A new place opened up.' 'That — I want to check it out.'

Key takeaways

これ/それ/あれ/どれ are standalone pronouns meaning "this/that one."
これ is never この. A pronoun cannot be followed by a noun — switch to the modifier row for "this + noun."
それ covers both the listener's physical space and ideas the listener just raised; あれ covers what is far from both or a shared memory.
Use どれ for three or more options and どっち／どちら for exactly two.

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