Being More Polite About It
“People of the world don’t look at themselves, and so they blame one another.” – Mevlana Rumi
The ここ, そこ, and あそこ stuff is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Really, it’s just like what you’ve already done with これ, それ, and あれ, except location-based. Unlike これ, それ, and あれ, though, there are casual and polite versions of ここ, そこ, and あそこ. Luckily, the polite and casual versions of them are pretty similar to each other.
こっち → casual
ここ → normal
こちら → polite
そっち → casual
そこ → normal
そちら → polite
あっち → casual
あそこ → normal
あちら → polite
The casual version always is just a shortening of the formal version, so if you learn the formal one (which also follows a pattern similar to the ここ, そこ, あそこ pattern) you know the casual one as well.
So, take a few moments to learn the formal versions of these – we’re going to take a look and practice on the next page.