これ
Meanings
Indicates an item near the speaker, the speaker's action, or the current topic. Contrasts with それ (near listener) and あれ (distant from both).
This is my book.
Can you take a look at this?
Used to refer to someone in the speaker's in-group, often in a familiar or humble way. Not used for superiors or out-group members.
This is my son.
now; this point in time
Appears in fixed expressions like これから (from now on) and これまで (until now). Not used as a standalone temporal pronoun.
We will start the meeting now.
Thank you for everything up to now.
Dated usage; modern Japanese normally uses ここ for 'here'.
In old literary language, これに was used to mean 'here'.
Formal or literary use; stresses the subject of a sentence, often in the pattern これは or これが. Not common in everyday speech.
This is what reality is.
Archaic first-person pronoun; not used in modern Japanese outside of historical or stylized contexts.
In classical Japanese, これ is sometimes used as a first-person pronoun.
Usage patterns
- これは〈物〉ですto introduce or identify an item as 'this'
This is my bag.
- これは〈人〉ですto introduce a member of one's own in-group (family, colleague) as 'this'
This is my younger brother.
- これでいいto say that this (choice, amount, result) is acceptable or sufficient
I think this budget will be fine.
- これで終わりto mark that something concludes at this point
The meeting ends here.