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LESSON AIM
We are going to build upon the previous lessons grammar. Asking "what is it?" and stating "it is a car" can be very vague without any context. Now we want to be able to specify an object or subject in the perspective of the talkers location, with the use of "this", "that" and "that (over there)"
In this lesson we will be;
Tonkatsu is a breaded fried pork cutlet that is very popular in Japan.
this
that
that over there
これ
それ
あれ
これ
それ
あれ
animal
fish
bird
water
beer
tea
どうぶつ
さかな
とり
みず
ビール
おちゃ
動物
魚
鳥
水
biーru
お茶
The topic marker は (pronounced wa), defines whatever the speaker is talking about (It could be an object, location, or another grammatical element). Though there is no direct translation in English, it could be understood to mean, “as for” or “speaking of”.
This grammar element would look like;
[topic] は [description, statement or question]
ぞう は どうぶつ です
An elephant is an animal
A - ビール (biーru) は なん ですか
What is beer?
B - ビール は のみもの です
Beer is a drink
あした は きんようび です
Tomorrow is Friday
これ, それ and あれ are words that are used when referring to the position and/or the distance of something in relation to the speaker.
The key here is to remember the first hiragana of the word.
こ- used when talking about something close to you. Either holding it or, is in your direction.
そ- used when talking about something that is the possession of, or is in the direction of the person you are talking to
あ- used when talking about something that is far away from you both you and the person you are talking to.
こ, そ and あ are used as other elements of words which we will cover in the next lesson.
A - これ は なんですか
What is this?
B - それ は おちゃ です
That is tea
A - それ は なんですか
What is that?
B - これ は すし です
This is sushi
A - あれ は どうぶつ ですか
Is that over there an animal?
B - はい、あれ は とり です
Yes, that is a bird
The casual forms of these pieces of grammar can be heard all the time in Japan when friends are talking to each other.
The は particle can be dropped completely when asking a question with これ, それ and あれ
これ なに？
With this form you will most likely hear the い sound at the end, slightly extended giving the intonation of a question
なに それ？
The way in which you can string these two together is interchangeable.
Example sentence
アー、うまい！ なにこれ？
Wow it tastes delicious! What is this?
それ、 フルーツ ビール (furuーtsu biーru) だよ