Like
ここ and
そこ,
あそこ is a word that is used to identify a place in Japanese. The place that
あそこ will be used to identify is somewhere that is separated from both the speaker and the listener. This translates roughly to ‘that place over there’ in English.
あそこ can be used to identify both physical locations, and emotional ones.
In the same way that
あれ can be used to point back to something that was mentioned previously,
あそこ can be used to point back to a place that was mentioned previously. However, unlike
それ or
そこ,
あれ and
あそこ will only be used this way when both the speaker and listener have intimate knowledge of the topic.
あそこ should not be confused with あっち, a similar word which is also sometimes translated as ‘over there’. あっち focuses more on the direction that one is/is going, while あそこ focuses purely on ‘that place’.