それ

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Japanese

Alternative spellings
其れ
夫れ
其
夫

Etymology

Compound of そ (so, “that”, medial reference marker) +‎ れ (-re, specific pronoun referent marker).

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) それ (Heiban – ) ​
  • (Tokyo) それ (Atamadaka – ) limited to the interjection sense
  • IPA(key):
  • Audio:(file)

Pronoun

それ • (sore) 

  1. that (near the addressee)
    Synonym: (dialectal, Kyushu) そい
    1. (deictically) that one (near the addressee)
    2. (anaphorically) the one we are talking about (either the speaker or the addressee knows)
    • c. 935: Tosa Nikki (page 3)
      それの年(とし)の十二月(しはす)の二十日(はつか)あまり一(ひと)日(ひ)の日(ひ)の戌(いぬ)の刻(とき)に、門(かど)出(で)す。
      Sore no toshi no shihasu no hatsuka amari hitohi no hi no inu no toki ni, kadodesu.
      (please add an English translation of this example)
    • c. 935: Tosa Nikki (page 13)
      船(ふね)に乗(の)りはじめし日(ひ)より、船(ふね)には紅(くれなゐ)濃(こ)くよき衣(きぬ)着(き)ず。それは「海(うみ)の神(かみ)に怖(お)ぢて」といひて、何(なに)の蘆(あし)蔭(かげ)にことづけて、老海鼠(ほやの)つまの貽(い)鮨(ずし)鮨(すし)鮑(あはび)をぞ、心(こゝろ)にもあらぬ脛(はぎ)に上(あげ)て見(み)せける。
      Fune ni nori hajime shi hi yori, fune ni wa kurenaikoku yoki kinu kizu. Sore wa “umi no kami ni ojite” to ihite, nani no ashikage ni kotozukete, hoyano tsuma no izushi sushi ahabi o zo, kokoro ni mo aranu hagi ni agete misekeru.
      (please add an English translation of this example)
    • c. 935: Tosa Nikki (page 18)
      この間(あひだ)に使(つか)はれむとて、附(つ)きてくる童(わらは)あり。それが歌(うた)ふ船(ふな)唄(うた)、「なほこそ国(くに)の方(かた)は見(み)やらるれ、わが父(ちゝ)母(はゝ)ありとし思(おも)へば。帰(かへ)らや。」と歌(うた)ふぞ哀(あはれ)なる。
      Kono ahida ni tsukaharemu to te, tsukite kuru waraha ari. Sore ga utafu funauta, “naho koso kuni no kata wa miyararure, wa ga chichihaha ari to shiomoheba. Kahera ya.” to utafu zo ahare naru.
      (please add an English translation of this example)
  2. that of (used only in writing)
    東(とう)京(きょう)の人(じん)口(こう)はニューヨークのそれより多(おお)い。
    Tōkyō no jinkō wa Nyūyōku no sore yori ōi.
    The population of Tokyo is larger than that of New York.

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.
Classical Japanese pronouns and demonstratives
a-/wa-
“I, we”
(first person) 		na-/-ma-
“you, ye, thou”
(second person) 		k-
“this”
(close to speaker) 		s-
“that”
(close to listener) 		a-/ka-
“that over there”
(far from both) 		i-/ta-/nani-
“who, what, where, how, when”
(interrogative) 		ono-
“oneself”
(reflexive)
Person あ (a)
あれ (are)
わ (wa)
われ (ware)
まろ (maro) 		な (na)
なれ (nare)
なんぢ (nanji)
まし (mashi)
いまし (imashi)
みまし (mimashi)
きみ (kimi) 		こ (ko)
これ (kore) 		そ (so)
それ (sore) 		あ (a)
あれ (are)
か (ka)
かれ (kare) 		た (ta)
たれ (tare)
なにがし (nanigashi) 		おの (ono)
おのれ (onore)
Thing こ (ko)
これ (kore) 		そ (so)
それ (sore) 		あ (a)
あれ (are)
か (ka)
かれ (kare) 		いづれ (izure)
なに (nani)
Location ここ (koko) そこ (soko) あしこ (ashiko)
かしこ (kashiko) 		いづく (izuku)
いづこ (izuko)
いどこ (idoko)
どこ (doko)
Direction こち (kochi)
こなた (konata) 		そち (sochi)
そなた (sonata) 		あち (achi)
あなた (anata)
かなた (kanata) 		いづち (izuchi)
いづら (izura)
いづかた (izukata)
Manner か (ka)
かく (kaku)
かくて (kakute)
かう (kō) 		さ (sa)
さて (sate)
しか (shika) 		いか (ika)
Time いつ (itsu)

See also

Interjection

それ • (sore) 

  1. Used to call someone's attention to something; there!, look!
  2. Used to stir someone to action or fire oneself up; go on!, let's go!, right!, here goes!, come on!

Usage notes

  • As an interjection, in sense 1, typically heiban pitch accent is used, where the second syllable is accented; while in sense 2, atamadaka pitch accent is used, where the first syllable is accented and the second is not.

Alternative forms

References

  • Hasegawa, Masaharu with Yūichirō Imanishi, Hiroshi Itō, Hiroshi Yoshioka (1989) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 24: Tosa Nikki, Kagerō Nikki, Murasaki Shikibu Nikki, Sarashina Nikki, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
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