Demonstrative Pronouns for JLPT N5 – Day 35

Welcome to Day 35 of our 100-day JLPT N5 challenge!

Yesterday, on Day 34, we mastered Japanese adjectives, describing things like この いえ は おおきい (This house is big) and しずかな へや (a quiet room).

Today, we’re diving into demonstrative pronouns – words like この (this), あの (that), これ (this one), あれ (that one), これら (these), and それら (those).

These words help you point to specific things, like “this book” or “that car,” and are essential for JLPT N5 conversations.

Let’s get started!

Main Lesson: Demonstrative Pronouns Step-by-Step

Japanese demonstrative pronouns change based on whether they describe a noun (e.g., “this book”) or stand alone (e.g., “this is a book”).

We’ll cover この, その, あの (for describing nouns) and これ, それ, あれ, これら, それら (for standalone pronouns).

Step 1: Types of Demonstrative Pronouns

Japanese demonstratives are divided into two groups based on their function and distance from the speaker or listener:

Describing Nouns (Adjectives):

この (kono): “This” (near the speaker).
Example: この ほん (kono hon) – this book

その (sono): “That” (near the listener or in shared context).
Example: その かばん (sono kaban) – that bag

あの (ano): “That” (far from both speaker and listener).
Example: あの くるま (ano kuruma) – that car (over there)

Standalone Pronouns:

これ (kore): “This one” (near the speaker).
Example: これ は ほん です。 (Kore wa hon desu.) – This is a book.

それ (sore): “That one” (near the listener or in shared context).
Example: それ は かばん です。 (Sore wa kaban desu.) – That is a bag.

あれ (are): “That one” (far from both).
Example: あれ は くるま です。 (Are wa kuruma desu.) – That is a car.

これら (korera): “These” (plural, near the speaker).
Example: これら は ほん です。 (Korera wa hon desu.) – These are books.

それら (sorera): “Those” (plural, near the listener or in shared context).
Example: それら は ペン です。 (Sorera wa pen desu.) – Those are pens.

Step 2: Vocabulary List

Here’s a table of JLPT N5 demonstrative pronouns.

Hiragana	Romaji	English	Function
この	kono	this (thing)	Describes noun
その	sono	that (thing, near listener)	Describes noun
あの	ano	that (thing, far away)	Describes noun
これ	kore	this one	Standalone
それ	sore	that one (near listener)	Standalone
あれ	are	that one (far away)	Standalone
これら	korera	these	Standalone (plural)
それら	sorera	those (near listener)	Standalone (plural)

---

Nouns for Practice	Romaji	English
ほん	hon	book
かばん	kaban	bag
くるま	kuruma	car
ペン	pen	pen

Pronunciation Tips:

• Kono: Koh-noh (soft “oh” like “open”).
• Kore: Koh-reh (roll the “r” lightly).
• Korera: Koh-reh-rah (stretch the “rah”).

Step 3: Grammar Rules

Describing Nouns (この, その, あの)

Structure: [Demonstrative] + [noun]

Example:
この ほん (kono hon) – this book
あの くるま (ano kuruma) – that car

Sentence: [Demonstrative + noun] + は + [description] + です

Example:
この ほん は あかい です。 (Kono hon wa akai desu.) – This book is red.
あの くるま は おおきい です。 (Ano kuruma wa ookii desu.) – That car is big.

Note: Use この/その/あの when pointing to a specific noun. They don’t stand alone (e.g., not この です).

Standalone Pronouns (これ, それ, あれ, これら, それら)

Structure: [Pronoun] + は + [description] + です

Example:
これ は ほん です。 (Kore wa hon desu.) – This is a book.
それら は ペン です。 (Sorera wa pen desu.) – Those are pens.

Plural Note: これら and それら are used for plural items (e.g., multiple books). Japanese rarely marks plurality explicitly, so これ/それ can also imply plural in context.

Negation

Structure: [Pronoun] + は + [description + くない / じゃない] + です

Example:
この ほん は あかくない です。 (Kono hon wa akakunai desu.) – This book is not red.
それ は げんき じゃない です。 (Sore wa genki ja nai desu.) – That one is not energetic.

Specificity

Avoid general nouns like ほん は あかい (unnatural).

Use この/その/あの for specific items:
Correct: この ほん は あかい です。 (Kono hon wa akai desu.) – This book is red.

Standalone pronouns (これ/それ/あれ) don’t need nouns, as they replace them:
Correct: これ は あかい です。 (Kore wa akai desu.) – This is red.

Step 4: Example Sentences

Here are the example sentences using demonstrative pronouns.

この ほん は あかい です。 (Kono hon wa akai desu.)
– This book is red.

その かばん は ちいさい です。 (Sono kaban wa chiisai desu.)
– That bag is small.

あの くるま は おおきい です。 (Ano kuruma wa ookii desu.)
– That car is big.

これ は ペン です。 (Kore wa pen desu.)
– This is a pen.

それ は ほん です。 (Sore wa hon desu.)
– That is a book.

あれ は くるま です。 (Are wa kuruma desu.)
– That is a car.

これら は ほん です。 (Korera wa hon desu.)
– These are books.

それら は ペン です。 (Sorera wa pen desu.)
– Those are pens.

この ペン は あかい です。 (Kono pen wa akai desu.)
– This pen is red.

あの いぬ は げんき です。 (Ano inu wa genki desu.)
– That dog is energetic.

Practice Section: Interactive Demonstrative Quiz

Test your skills with this fun quiz! Choose the correct answer for each question.

Conclusion

Great job on Day 35! You’ve mastered Japanese demonstrative pronouns for JLPT N5, including この (this), その (that), あの (that over there), これ (this one), それ (that one), あれ (that one over there), これら (these), and それら (those).

You can now confidently point to specific objects, like この ほん は あかい です (This book is red) or これら は ペン です (These are pens), making your Japanese clear and natural.

Keep practicing daily to solidify your progress!
See you tomorrow!