Practice Time
“Genius is the ability to put into effect what is in your mind.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Now that you’ve learned some words, let’s use them to learn more about using これ, それ, and あれ. You’ve gone through the basic pattern, so now it’s time to put it into practice. First, here’s some words you might see on this page.
- Head (あたま)
- Body (からだ)
- Breakfast (あさごはん)
- Japan (にほん)
- Telephone (でんわ)
- Glasses (めがね)
- Pencil (えんぴつ)
- Food (たべもの)
- Drink / Beverage (のみもの)
- Chair (いす)
- Train (でんしゃ)
- Water (みず)
- Bicycle (じてんしゃ)
- Car (くるま)
Great, let’s start where we left off. Remember this?
これ は ＿＿＿＿＿ です。
You know this means “This is _______.” So, for example, if you wanted to say “This is a pencil” … you would say:
これ は えんぴつ です。
Just for reminder’s sake, do you remember what これ means? Do you remember how it relates to other words in the これ, それ, あれ set?
これ: This – refers to something the speaker has in his/her possession.
それ: That – refers to something that the person the speaker is talking to has in their possession.
あれ: That over there – refers to something that neither the speaker or the person being spoken to has. i.e. it’s away from both of them.
Now, what if someone else had the pencil, and you wanted to say to that person “that is a pencil”?
それ は えんぴつ です。
That is correct – you’d use それ, because you’re talking about a pencil that the person you’re speaking to has. Perhaps your friend doesn’t know what a pencil is, so you have to tell him what that thing is in his or her hand. “What is this weird, long, cylindrical writing instrument?” … “それ は えんぴつ です！”
Now, what if, perhaps, the pencil is away from both you and the person you’re talking to? Maybe the pencil is on a desk away from both of you. How would you say “That (over there) is a pencil”?
あれ は えんぴつ です。
In this situation, the pencil would be away from both of you, which is why you’re using あれ.
In English, there isn’t actually much of a distinction between the Japanese words that make up それ (that) and あれ (that over there). Usually in English, you’d just use the word “that” to describe both of those things, whether the thing is in the possession of the person you’re speaking to, or it’s away from both of you. In Japanese, though, there is that distinction, which can cause a little confusion amongst people learning the language. Just remember, あれ is for when the thing is away from both you and the person you’re talking to. Think of it as “That over there.”