その

Japanese

From Old Japanese [script needed] (so₂no₂) → /sono/.

その (rōmaji sono)

其の: (deictically) that ... near you (near the addressee)
私 (わたし)が読 (よ)みたい本 (ほん)は、その本 (ほん)です。
Watashi ga yomitai hon wa, sono hon desu.
What I want to read is that book.
其の: (anaphorically) the ... we are talking about.
其の: of it. its.

	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)
Object	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)
Determiner	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)
Place	ここ (koko)	そこ (soko)	あそこ (asoko)*	どこ (doko)
Direction	こちら (kochira)	そちら (sochira)	あちら (achira)	どちら (dochira)
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)
* irregular ** regular (long vowel)

その 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,
その本はやすいですか？
Is that book (which we are talking about) cheap? (anaphorically)

Is that book (I'm pointing to/near you/of yours) cheap? (deictically)

あの本はやすいですか？
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.

その (rōmaji sono)

その (rōmaji Sono)

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