Japanese Words for Here and There

Japanese Words for Here and There
Words for Here and There in Japanese
Learn ここ (Koko)、そこ (Soko)、 あそこ (Asoko) in Japanese

どこ means “Where?” And ここ, そこ and あそこ are ways to respond to this question!

A good way to remember ここ, そこ and あそこ is that they follow the same rules これ, それ, あれ (this, that, that over there).

1. ここ
ここ means here. It is used when the topic of the sentence is near the speaker. As mentioned, this is similar to これ, which is used when an object is close to the speaker.

Example:
「ここから学校までどのくらいかかりますか?」
「ここからがっこまでどのくらいかかりますか?」
Koko kara gakko made donokurai kakarimasu ka?
“How far is it from here to your school?”

2. そこ
そこ means there. It is used when the topic of the sentence is farther from the speaker, closer to the listener. This is similar to それ, which is used when an object is close to the listener.

Example:
私は予想通りの人物がそこに立っているのを見た。
わたしはよそうどおりのじんぶつがそこになっているのをみた。
Watashi wa yosōdori no jinbutsu ga soko ni tatteiru no o mita.
I saw the person I expected standing there.

3. あそこ
あそこ means there or over there. It is used when the topic of the sentence is far away from both the listener and speaker. This is similar to あれ, which is used when an object is also far from both listener and speaker.

Example:
あそこに彼の家が見えます。
あそこにかれの いえがみえます。
Asoko ni kare no ie ga miemasu.
We can see his house over there.

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