どれ

ど

れ

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 1,000

Meanings

pronoun

which (of three or more)

usually written using kana alone

Interrogative pronoun used when choosing from three or more items. For two items, use どちら or どっち.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉はどれですかwhich one is 〈物〉? (asking someone to pick out an item from several)
あなたのかばんはどれですか。
Which one is your bag?
どれ、〈動どう詞し〉well then, (let's) ~ (used to prompt oneself or others into action)
どれ、そろそろ始はじめようか。
Well then, shall we get started?
どれにするto decide on which one (out of several) to choose
メニューが多おおくて、どれにするか迷まよう。
There are so many things on the menu, I can't decide which to have.
どれが一いち番ばん〈形けい容よう詞し〉かwhich one is the most ~ (of the options)
この中なかでどれが一いち番ばんおいしいですか。
Which of these is the tastiest?

Expressions

どれだけhow much; how many; to what extent
どれにもnone (of them); not any

Grammar

こ・そ・あ・どthis, that, that over there, whichN5

Kanji

何what

Related words

どちらN5sense 1
どれ asks which one among three or more choices, while どちら is used for two choices (or as the polite form for either two or many) and also doubles as a polite way to ask 'where' or 'who'.
いずれN3
どれ is the casual interrogative 'which' used for three or more items, while いずれ is a more formal, often written word for the same meaning.
どれどれN1
どれ is the plain, common pronoun for “which,” while どれどれ is a reduplicated, emphatic form rarely used as a pronoun in modern speech.
あれN5
どれ is the question word meaning 'which one?', while あれ is the answer-like form pointing to a specific distant thing.
さあN5
どれ is an old-fashioned way to say 'let's see' before checking something, similar to さあ used to express hesitation, but どれ sounds more dated and formal.

Don't confuse with

どれでも
どれ is the plain interrogative 'which one?', while どれでも adds でも to mean 'any one, whichever' with no question intended.
何なにN5
何 is an open-ended 'what' with no implied choices, whereas どれ means 'which one' and presupposes a known set of options.
これN5
これ is the proximal demonstrative 'this one', while 何れ is the interrogative 'which one' used to ask among three or more options.
それN5
何れ is the interrogative form used to ask 'which one?', whereas それ refers to a specific thing already identified.

Word family

どれどれN1
which; which ones · well now; come on; go on
どれも
any; all; every; both; either; none (with negative verb)
どれでも
any one; any; whichever

Written forms

どれUsage97%
Standard kana spelling; the kanji form 何れ is rarely used.
何どれUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; learners should use the kana spelling.
ドレUsage<1%

Etymology

From the interrogative prefix ど (do-) combined with the nominalizer れ (re), forming a pronoun meaning 'which one'. The kanji 何れ is a jukujikun reading.