あそこ
Japanese
Etymology
| Alternative spelling |
|---|
| 彼処 |
Shift from earlier あしこ (ashiko). The asoko form appears in the Utsubo Monogatari of the late 900s, during the Heian period.[1]
Pronunciation
Pronoun
あそこ • (asoko)
- (deictically) that place, area, or part over there (far from the speaker and the addressee)
- 私の子供はあそこで遊んでいますよ。
- Watashi no kodomo wa asoko de asonde imasu yo.
- My child is playing over there.
- 私の子供はあそこで遊んでいますよ。
- (deictically) that organization or team over there (far from the speaker and the addressee)
- (anaphorically) that place, area, or part we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know)
- (anaphorically) that organization or team we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know)
- (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.
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 | ||||
References
- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “あそ‐こ 【彼処】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
- ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nakai, Yukihiko, editor (2002), 京阪系アクセント辞典 [A Dictionary of Tone on Words of the Keihan-type Dialects] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Bensei, →ISBN