Im am learning Japanese and cannot understand the differences in using Kono, Sono, ano and kore, sore, are. How do I know when to use them, what is the correct context, what are the major differences between their uses and how I can I remember the proper way to use them when speaking Japanese. Thank you
Also if you know of any online resources such as videos, books or articles please let me know. I would really appreciate it.
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Kono/Sono/Ano are contractions of “kore no”, “sore no” and “are no”. So if you want to say “This bag is heavy”, you wouldn’t say “kore kaban wa omoi”, but instead you’d say “kono kaban wa omoi”, because you mean “this bag”. The same logic applies to sono, which would mean “that bag that is near the other person” and ano, which would mean “that bag over there”.
Basically, you have to understand it from the perspective of the Japanese language without trying to adapt it to English. Because yeah, kore and kono in English would both be translated to “this”.
kono neko = this cat
kore ha neko desu = this is a cat
the other stuff depends on the position of the object or person
ko- is near the speaker
so- is near the listener
a- is not near the speaker and not near the listener
that’s how I was told
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First, the endings -no and -re. Use -no when you have a noun after it and -re if not.
The beginnings ko-, so-, and a- indicate distance. Ko- is the closest and a- is the furthest…this is easier to explain in Spanish because we also have three words to indicate distance (esto, eso y aquello)…. Think about a pen… You use ko- when it is near or in your hand, so- when it is on or near the desk but you can’t reach it, and a- when it is on the other side of the room.
Two more notes: その can be used as a quick/convenient way to say “your,” especially when it’s something the other person is wearing or holding. Also, this is a bit more advanced, but あの (and あれ) is used to refer to things that the speaker and listener have a shared, mutual memory of (or else it can have a “storytelling” feeling to it), like あの日 will sound like “On that day, …”
Seems like you are just starting out on N5, head over here [Bunpro](https://bunpro.jp/). Pretty great resource.
They are used when referring to something, usually mean ‘This or that’
Kore is used when the object is immediately in your reach. Eg: you’re holding a pen. You would say Kore to refer to it. If your friend was holding it, you would say sore. If it was across the room you could say Are. Are is mostly used for things that are far or out of sight.
Kono, Sono are used when you are specific mentioning the object in your sentence.
Eg. You can point to an object and say “how much is this?” while pointing to a pen and say kore. If you say “how much is this pen?” you would say kono.