# あそこ
## Japanese
### Etymology

* Alternative spelling
* 彼処
Shift from earlier あしこ (ashiko). The asoko form appears in the Utsubo Monogatari of the late 900s, during the Heian period.

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) あそこ [àsókó] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [a̠so̞ko̞]
* (Kyoto) あそこ [àsòkó] (Teiki – [0])
* (Kyoto) あそ​こ [àsóꜜkò] (Teiki)

### Pronoun

あそこ • (asoko)
* (deictically) that place, area, or part over there (far from the speaker and the addressee)
    私(わたし)の子(こ)供(ども)はあそこで遊(あそ)んでいますよ。
       Watashi no kodomo wa asoko de asonde imasu yo.
       My child is playing over there.
* (deictically) that organization or team over there (far from the speaker and the addressee)
* (anaphorically) that place, area, or part we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know)
* (anaphorically) that organization or team we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know)
* (slang, by extension from the sense of “down there”) genitals

#### Usage notes

* The hiragana spelling あそこ is preferred to the kanji spelling 彼処, which is rarely used.
* あそこ, as a meaning of place, is mostly followed by some particles with verbs as follows.
    あそこに: with verbs of movement (go, come, move, transfer, ...) or verbs of existence(be, exist, stay, ...).
    あそこへ: with verbs of movement (go, come, move, transfer, ...).
    あそこで: with the other verbs.

#### See also

| | 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) |
| Degree | これだけ (kore dake) | それだけ (sore dake) | あれだけ (are dake) | どれだけ (dore dake) |
| Degree | 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 |||||

### References

* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō
* 1 2 “あそ‐こ 【彼処】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
* 1 2 Nakai, Yukihiko, editor (2002), 京阪系アクセント辞典 [A Dictionary of Tone on Words of the Keihan-type Dialects] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Bensei, →ISBN