そこ

See also: そご

Japanese

Alternative spelling
其処

そこ • (soko)

(deictically) That place, area, or part near you. (near the addressee)
おい、そこのお前(まえ)ら！
Oi, soko no omaera!
Hey, you all over there!
(deictically) That organization or team near you. (near the addressee)
(anaphorically) The place, area, or part we are talking about. (either the speaker or the addressee knows)
コンビニはすぐそこだよ。
Konbini wa sugu soko da yo.
The convenience store is right over there.

振(ふ)り向(む)くとそこにはもう誰(だれ)もいませんでした。
Furimuku to soko ni wa mō dare mo imasen deshita.
They turned around; there was already no one to be seen.
(anaphorically) The organization or team we are talking about. (either the speaker or the addressee knows)
(brusque) You people over there.

The hiragana spelling (そこ) is preferred to the kanji spelling (其処), which is rarely used.

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)
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)
Kind	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)
Place	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)
Direction / Human	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.

	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)

For pronunciation and definitions of そこ – see the following entry.

【底】4	[noun] the bottom

(This term, そこ (soko), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as そこ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as そこ.