このThis

Structure

この + (Near The Speaker) Noun

Details

Part of Speech
Fixed Adjective
Word Type
Independent Word
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Standard

About この

この is classified as a 'pre-noun adjectival' in Japanese. These are a special type of word that do not conjugate. This means that they will always appear in the same form. この comes from the same family of words as これ and ここ, and is used to identify a 'thing' that is near the speaker.

As the name 'pre-noun adjectival' suggests, these words will always appear before a noun, and describe that noun in some way.

Examples

--:--

この本(ほん)がいいです。

This book is good.

このケーキは大(おお)きいです。

This cake is big.

この写真(しゃしん)は私(わたし)のです。

This picture is mine.

この犬(いぬ)は私(わたし)の犬(いぬ)です。

This dog is my dog.

この動物(どうぶつ)は、猫(ねこ)です。

This animal is a cat.

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  St.Olaf
- This:「これ」&「この」
  Imabi

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- Genki I
  Page 35
- Genki I 2nd Edition
  Page 63
- みんなの日本語 I
  Page 20 [CH 2]
- みんなの日本語 II
  Page 78 [CH 37]
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この – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

Jake

this

Structure
この + Noun
Noun near the speaker

View on Bunpro
amelcr2
In which situations would you use ここの instead of この? I can understand if you are using の as a possessive particle like the example sentence:
ここの食たべ物ものは不味まずいです。
This place 's food isn’t good.

But why wouldn’t you use この in this example sentence:
ここの店みせは美味おいしいですか。
Is this store/restaurant delicious?

When would you use そこの, あそこの, and どこの?
s1212z
I think it’s the English translation phrasing feels a bit awkward and I would use the orange box as a rephrasing guideline. Part of it is Japanese giving redundancy of “here” and specified place (store) that makes it a little goofy on a literal translations.

amelcr2:

ここの食たべ物ものは

I hear “The food here isn’t that good”. It’s easier to say and more concise while adhering to using “here” for ここ. I also hear "this place’s food (here) isn’t that good.
amelcr2
This makes more sense, thank you!
SilverGoffer
I wish the tips for this item included “has to be followed by a noun”, as well as the rest of the Xの items.
Pushindawood
@SilverGoffer Thank you for your suggestion! I have updated the structures for all “Xの” items as well as the hints/warnings displayed to include this information. Cheers!
Eloeri
image.png1469×287 10.9 KB

I feel this should...
MoonlitClaire
I have a slightly different question than above…

What is the difference between this example:
このケーキは大きいです。
and this alternative (assuming I wrote this sentence correctly…):
これは大きなケーキです。

I think the former is “this cake is big” and the latter is “this is a big cake” but I’m not sure if one is more correct than the other, or if it’s just two ways to say the same thing.
BionicZebra
They’re equivalent as far as I can tell. Except 大きい is an いadjective. So do not use な. な is for nouns only (な adjectives are actually nouns)
FredKore
Actually it’s okay. 大きい and 小さい are odd in that they can also be used as 大きな and 小さな. (Although I think the な variant is more common when spoken.)
FredKore
Your translations are correct. Just like in English, they are different sentences emphasizing different parts.

What do you have there?
This is a big cake.
(“This cake is big” doesn’t make sense here)

What do you think of that cake?
This cake is big.
(“This is a big cake” could work too.)
BionicZebra
Interesting. Thanks!
MoonlitClaire
Thanks for the help everyone, very much appreciated!