| When you want to talk about things you do not know the name of,
you can use such expressions as kore, sore, are, and dore?. |
|
| Kore
refers to something close to the speaker; sore refers to something close to the person you're talking to; are refers to an object that is neither close to the speaker or the listener. |
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| あれ は わたし の ペン です。 |
That /thing/ is my pen over there. |
|
are wa watashi no pen desu. |
|
| これ は 私 の ペン です。 | This /thing/ is my pen. |
| kore wa watashi no pen desu. | |
| それ は わたし の ペン です。 | That /thing/ is my pen. |
| sore wa watashi no pen desu. | |
 |
|
| これ は いくら です か？ | How much is this? |
| kore wa ikura desu ka? | |
| それ は さん ぜん えん です。 | That is 3,000 yen. |
|
sore wa san-zen en desu. |
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| Dore can be used to express "which?" | |
| どれ です か。 |
Which one? |
| dore desu ka? | |
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Question words like dore
and nani cannot be followed by the particle wa. Instead, they must be followed by the particle ga. |
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| どれ が あなた の ペン です か。 | Which one is your pen? |
|
dore ga anata no pen desu ka? |
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