この

Japanese

Etymology 1

Originally a compound of Old Japanese elements こ (ko, “(pronoun) this”) +‎ の (no, “possessive, modifies following noun”). こ as a pronoun is no longer used individually in modern Japanese.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Adnominal

この (rōmaji kono)

  1. (deictically) this ... (near the speaker)
    この車 (くるま)は緑 (みどり)です。
    Kono kuruma wa midori desu.
    This car is green.
    この馬 (ば)鹿 (か)ね！
    Kono baka ne!
    You idiot!
  2. (anaphorically) this ... I am talking about (only the speaker knows)
Usage notes
  • This term can only be used when followed by a noun or noun phrase. It cannot be used as a standalone pronoun. Examples:
    • Correct:
      この色 (いろ)が好 (す)きです。 ― Kono iro ga suki desu. ― I like this color.
      • A noun follows kono.
    • Incorrect:
      このが好 (す)きです。 ― Kono ga suki desu. ― I like this ...
      • There must be a noun in place of the "...".
      • Using kono in this way is comparable to using English the without a noun after it (*I like the.).
  • Almost always spelled in hiragana as この.
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)
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)
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)
→

Etymology 2

/kokono/ → /kono/

Abbreviation of Old Japanese kokono (“nine”).

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Number

この (rōmaji kono)

  1. (dated) nine
    ひい、ふう、みい、よう、いつ、むう、なな、やあ、この、とお。
    Hī, fū, mī, yō, itsu, mū, nana, yā, kono, tō.
    One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Usage notes

Generally only used when counting out loud, as in the example above. In writing, usually found spelled out in hiragana as この to make the reading unambiguous.

Synonyms

References
  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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