PRESTUDY: これkoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？

Things Around You — これkore・それsore・あれare

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

In this lesson, you will learn how to:

• Point at things and say what they are
• Say "this," "that," and "that over there"
• Say who something belongs to
• Ask "What is this?" and "Whose is it?"

THE BIG IDEA: これkore・それsore・あれare

English Explanation

Japanese has three words for "this/that," based on distance from the speaker:

• これkore = this — near me (the speaker)

• それsore = that — near you (the listener)

• あれare = that over there — far from both of us

🙋

これkore

near me

→

🙋‍♂️

それsore

near you

→

👁

あれare

over there

English vs. Japanese

English only has two: "this" (near) and "that" (far).

Japanese splits "that" into two — それsore (near the other person) and あれare (far from everyone).

PATTERN 1: DEMONSTRATIVES

"This is a ___."

Pattern: これkore/それsore/あれareはwa [noun] ですdesu。

How to use

Point at something and say what it is. Choose これkore, それsore, or あれare based on how far away it is.

EXAMPLES

• これkoreはwaほんhonですdesu。
This is a book.

• それsoreはwaペンpenですdesu。
That is a pen.

• あれareはwaかばんkabanですdesu。
That over there is a bag.

THING WORDS (NOUNS)

Japanese	Reading	English
ほんhon	hon	book
ペンpen	pen	pen
ノートnōto	nōto	notebook
かばんkaban	kaban	bag
でんわdenwa	denwa	phone
かぎkagi	kagi	key
とけいtokei	tokei	clock
みずmizu	mizu	water

PATTERN 1: PRACTICE

Activity 1: Choose the correct demonstrative

Click the right word to complete each sentence.

1. （　　）はwaほんhonですdesu。 — This (near me) is a book.

2. （　　）はwaペンpenですdesu。 — That (near you) is a pen.

3. （　　）はwaとけいtokeiですdesu。 — That (far away) is a clock.

Activity 2: Match the sentence

Click the correct English meaning.

1. これkoreはwaかばんkabanですdesu。

2. あれareはwaでんわdenwaですdesu。

3. それsoreはwaノートnōtoですdesu。

PATTERN 2: POSSESSION

"This is my ___."

Pattern: これkore/それsore/あれareはwa [person]のno [noun] ですdesu。

How to use

The particle のno shows that something belongs to someone. It works like "'s" in English.

わたしwatashiのnoほんhon = my book (literally: "I 's book")

せんせいsenseiのnoペンpen = the teacher's pen

EXAMPLES

• これkoreはwaわたしwatashiのnoほんhonですdesu。
This is my book.

• それsoreはwaせんせいsenseiのnoペンpenですdesu。
That is the teacher's pen.

• あれareはwaゆきYukiさんsanのnoかばんkabanですdesu。
That over there is Yuki's bag.

PEOPLE WORDS

Japanese	Reading	English
わたしwatashi	watashi	I / my
あなたanata	anata	you / your
せんせいsensei	sensei	teacher
ともだちtomodachi	tomodachi	friend

MORE THING WORDS

Japanese	Reading	English
まどmado	mado	window
ドアdoa	doa	door
いすisu	isu	chair
がっこうgakkō	gakkō	school

PATTERN 2: PRACTICE

Activity 1: Choose the missing particle

Click the correct word to complete each sentence.

1. これkoreはwaわたしwatashi（　　）ほんhonですdesu。 — This is my book.

2. それsoreはwaせんせいsensei（　　）ノートnōtoですdesu。 — That is the teacher's notebook.

3. あれareはwaだれdare（　　）かばんkabanですdesuかka？ — Whose bag is that over there?

Activity 2: Build the sentence

Click the words in the correct order.

1. This is my book.

2. That is the teacher's pen.

3. That over there is Yuki's bag.

ASKING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: "WHAT IS THIS?"

How to ask

Replace the noun with なんnan (what) and add かka at the end.

これkoreはwaほんhonですdesu。 → This is a book.

これkoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？ → What is this?

• これkoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？ What is this?
• それsoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？ What is that?
• あれareはwaなんnanですdesuかka？ What is that over there?

QUESTION 2: "WHOSE IS THIS?"

How to ask

Use だれdare (who) + のno to ask "whose."

これkoreはwaだれdareのnoかばんkabanですdesuかka？ → Whose bag is this?

USEFUL WORDS & PHRASES

Japanese	Reading	English
なんnan	nan	what
だれdare	dare	who
もmo	mo	also / too
はいhai	hai	yes
いいえiie	iie	no
いいii〜ですdesuねne	ii ~ desu ne	Nice ~!
そうsōですdesuかka	sō desu ka	Oh, I see.
とてもtotemo	totemo	very
おおきいōkii	ōkii	big

QUESTION PRACTICE

Activity 1: Match the question

Click the correct English meaning.

1. これkoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？

2. あれareはwaだれdareのnoかばんkabanですdesuかka？

3. これkoreもmoほんhonですdesuかka？

Activity 2: Build the question

Click the words in the correct order.

1. What is that?

2. Whose notebook is this?

CONVERSATION PREVIEW

CONTEXT / じょうきょうjōkyō

Yuki and Alex are in a classroom looking at things on the desk.
ゆきYukiとtoアレックスArekkusuがgaきょうしつkyōshitsuでdeつくえtsukueのnoうえueのnoものmonoをwoみてmiteいますimasu。

How to read this

Read through the conversation slowly. The words in italics are the patterns you are learning. English translations are below each line.

YUKI: アレックスArekkusuさんsan、これkoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？
Alex, what is this?

ALEX: ああaa、それsoreはwaわたしwatashiのnoほんhonですdesu。
Oh, that is my book.

YUKI: いいiiほんhonですdesuねne！これkoreもmoほんhonですdesuかka？
Nice book! Is this also a book?

ALEX: いいえiie、それsoreはwaノートnōtoですdesu。せんせいsenseiのnoノートnōtoですdesu。
No, that is a notebook. It's the teacher's notebook.

YUKI: あa、そうsōですdesuかka。あれareはwaなんnanですdesuかka？
Oh, I see. What is that over there?

ALEX: あれareはwaサラSaraさんsanのnoかばんkabanですdesu。とてもtotemoおおきいōkiiですdesuねne！
That over there is Sara's bag. It's very big!

PRESTUDY COMPLETE!

Prestudy Checklist:

✔ これkore = this (near me) / それsore = that (near you) / あれare = that over there

✔ Pattern 1: これkoreはwa[noun]ですdesu。 — "This is a ___."

✔ Pattern 2: これkoreはwa[person]のno[noun]ですdesu。 — "This is ___'s ___."

✔ Question: これkoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？ — "What is this?"

✔ Whose: だれdareのno[noun]ですdesuかka？ — "Whose ___ is it?"

KEY EXPRESSIONS — もういちどmō ichidoよんでyondeみましょうmimashō！

• これkoreはwaほんhonですdesu。 — This is a book.
• それsoreはwaせんせいsenseiのnoペンpenですdesu。 — That is the teacher's pen.
• あれareはwaかばんkabanですdesu。 — That over there is a bag.
• これkoreはwaなんnanですdesuかka？ — What is this?

You are ready!

You now know the key patterns and vocabulary for Lesson 2. In class, you will practice pointing at real things, asking questions, and doing a Lost & Found roleplay with your tutor.