これ, それ, あれ, どれ

Japanese has a family of words built on four beginnings, こ, そ, あ and ど, often called ko-so-a-do words. Once you know the pattern, one table covers "this", "that", "here", "there" and the questions that go with them.

• こ: near the speaker. "This", "here".
• そ: near the listener, or just mentioned. "That", "there".
• あ: away from both. "That over there".
• ど: the question. "Which", "where".

あそこ and ああ break the pattern slightly.

これ and この

これ, それ, あれ and どれ stand alone, like nouns. この, その, あの and どの must come before a noun.

• これは何ですか。
  Kore wa nan desu ka.
  What is this?
• この本は面白いです。
  Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu.
  This book is interesting.
• あの人は誰ですか。
  Ano hito wa dare desu ka.
  Who is that person?
• トイレはあそこです。
  Toire wa asoko desu.
  The toilet is over there.

Polite こちら

こちら, そちら, あちら and どちら are polite words for directions and places, and also for people. どちら also asks "which of two".

• こちらは田中さんです。
  Kochira wa Tanaka-san desu.
  This is Mr. Tanaka.
• お国はどちらですか。
  Okuni wa dochira desu ka.
  Which country are you from?

In conversation

そ words also point back to what someone just said: それはいいですね "That's nice." あ words can point to something both speakers know from before: あの店 "that shop", the one you both remember. そう comes up constantly: そうです "That's right", そうですか "I see", そうですね "That's true" or "Let me think".