その

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
其の

⟨so2 no2⟩ → */sənə/ → /sono/

From Old Japanese そ, distal demonstrative root, with の (no) added to form the ordinary adnominal form 'that', as in 'that word', as opposed to the pronoun それ (sore).

Pronunciation

Adnominal

その • (sono) 

  1. (deictically) that ... near you (near the addressee)
    私(わたし)が読(よ)みたいのは、その本(ほん)です。
    Watashi ga yomitai no wa, sono hon desu.
    What I want to read is that book.
  2. (anaphorically) the ... we are talking about.
  3. ...of it; its; their
    そのお姉(ねえ)さん
    sono onēsan
    her elder sister
  4. used in a title and before a number to indicate that number of part, chapter, volume, episode, or installment; compare suffixes 編 (-hen), 話 (-wa), 巻 (-kan), 集 (-shū), 章 (-shō), 上 (jō), 中 (chū) and 下 (ge)
    日(に)本(ほん)映(えい)画(が)論(ろん)その三(さん)
    Nihon Eigaron Sono San
    Japanese Films: Part 3
Usage notes
  • Sono is anaphorically used to refer to things and experiences that either the speaker or the listener knows about, but not both. Compare the two following sentences:
    その本(ほん)はやすいですか。
    Sono hon wa yasui desu ka.
    Is that book (which we are talking about) cheap? (anaphorically)
    Is that book (I'm pointing to/near you/of yours) cheap? (deictically)
    あの本(ほん)はやすいですか。
    Ano hon wa yasui desu ka.
    Is the book (which we both know) cheap? (anaphorically)
    Is that book (over there, which you and I can see) cheap? (deictically)
  • The hiragana spelling その is preferred to the kanji spelling 其の, which is rarely used.
Derived terms
Derived terms
See also
Japanese demonstratives
ko-
“this”
(close to speaker) 		so-
“that”
(close to listener) 		a-
“that over there”
(far from both) 		do-
“which”
(indeterminate, question)
Object これ (kore) それ (sore) あれ (are) どれ (dore)
これら (korera) それら (sorera) あれら (arera) —
Determiner この (kono) その (sono) あの (ano) どの (dono)
これらの (korera no) それらの (sorera no) あれらの (arera no) —
Kind こんな (konna) そんな (sonna) あんな (anna) どんな (donna)
こういう (kō iu) そういう (sō iu) ああいう (ā iu) どういう (dō iu)
Place ここ (koko) そこ (soko) あそこ (asoko)* どこ (doko)
こっから (kokkara) そっから (sokkara) — どっから (dokkara)
Direction / Human こちら (kochira) そちら (sochira) あちら (achira) どちら (dochira)
こなた (konata) そなた (sonata) あなた (anata) どなた (donata)
Direction こっち (kotchi) そっち (sotchi) あっち (atchi) どっち (dotchi)
Human こいつ (koitsu)† そいつ (soitsu)† あいつ (aitsu)† どいつ (doitsu)†
Manner こう (kō) そう (sō) ああ (ā)** どう (dō)
Degree これくらい (kore kurai) それくらい (sore kurai) あれくらい (are kurai) どれくらい (dore kurai)
これだけ (kore dake) それだけ (sore dake) あれだけ (are dake) どれだけ (dore dake)
これほど (kore hodo) それほど (sore hodo) あれほど (are hodo) どれほど (dore hodo)
* irregular
** regular (long vowel)
† potentially rude or derogatory
The kanji 此(こ) (ko), 其(そ) (so), 彼(あ) (a), and 何(ど) (do) can be used for determiners, but they are almost always spelled in hiragana.

Interjection

その • (sono) 

  1. (used as filler during conversation) uh, umm, er
    Synonyms: あのう, ええっと

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of その – see the following entry.
【園】2
an orchard, plantation
a garden, park (especially one with trees)
a place, location
a female given name
a surname
Alternative spelling
苑
(This term, その (sono), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as その, see Category:Japanese kanji read as その.)

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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