その

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
其の

⟨so₂ no₂⟩ → */sənə/ → /sono/

From Old Japanese そ, distal demonstrative root, with の (no) added to form the ordinary adnominal form 'that', as in 'that word', as opposed to the pronoun それ (sore).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) その [sònó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [so̞no̞]

Adnominal

その • (sono) 

1. (deictically) that ... near you (near the addressee)

   私(わたし)が読(よ)みたいのは、その本(ほん)です。

   Watashi ga yomitai no wa, sono hon desu.

   What I want to read is that book.

2. (anaphorically) the ... we are talking about.
3. ...of it; its; their

   そのお姉(ねえ)さん

   sono onēsan

   her elder sister

4. used in a title and before a number to indicate that number of part, chapter, volume, episode, or installment; compare suffixes 編 (-hen), 話 (-wa), 巻 (-kan), 集 (-shū), 章 (-shō), 上 (jō), 中 (chū) and 下 (ge)

   日(に)本(ほん)映(えい)画(が)論(ろん)その三(さん)

   Nihon Eigaron Sono San

   Japanese Films: Part 3

Usage notes

• Sono 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(ほん)はやすいですか。

  Sono hon wa yasui desu ka.

  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(ほん)はやすいですか。

  Ano hon wa yasui desu ka.

  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.

Derived terms

• その足(あし)で (sono ashide)
• その時(とき)はその時(とき) (sono toki wa sono toki)
• その日(ひ)その日(ひ) (sono hi sono hi)
• その日暮(ひぐ)らし (sono higurashi)

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

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.

Interjection

その • (sono) 

1. (used as filler during conversation) uh, umm, er

   Synonyms: あのう, ええっと

Etymology 2

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

【園】2 [noun] an orchard, plantation [noun] a garden, park (especially one with trees) [noun] a place, location [proper noun] a female given name [proper noun] a surname Alternative spelling 苑

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