あそこ

Japanese

Etymology

Shift from earlier あしこ (ashiko). The asoko form appears in the Utsubo Monogatari of the late 900s, during the Heian period.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あそこ (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

• (Kyoto) あそこ , あそこ

Pronoun

あそこ • (asoko) 

1. (deictically) that place, area, or part over there (far from the speaker and the addressee)

   私(わたし)の子(こ)供(ども)はあそこで遊(あそ)んでいますよ。

   Watashi no kodomo wa asoko de asonde imasu yo.

   My child is playing over there.

2. (deictically) that organization or team over there (far from the speaker and the addressee)
3. (anaphorically) that place, area, or part we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know)
4. (anaphorically) that organization or team we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know)
5. (slang, by extension from the sense of “down there”) genitals

Usage notes

• The hiragana spelling あそこ is preferred to the kanji spelling 彼処, which is rarely used.
• あそこ, as a meaning of place, is mostly followed by some particles with verbs as follows.

  あそこに: with verbs of movement (go, come, move, transfer, ...) or verbs of existence(be, exist, stay, ...).

  あそこへ: with verbs of movement (go, come, move, transfer, ...).

  あそこで: with the other verbs.

See also

References