どこ

also: いずこ · いずく · いづこ · いどこ

ど

こ

Meanings

where; what place

usually written using kana alone

Interrogative pronoun for an unknown place. It commonly takes particles such as に, で, へ, から, and まで. The readings いずこ, いずく, and related variants are literary or obsolete.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉はどこですかwhere is 〈place〉?
駅えきはどこですか。
Where is the station?
どこで〈動どう詞し〉where (one does something)
どこでその靴くつを買かいましたか。
Where did you buy those shoes?
どこへ行いくwhere are you going
今日きょうはどこへ行いくの？
Where are you going today?
どこから来きたwhere (someone/something) is from
あなたはどこから来きましたか。
Where are you from?
どこまで〈動どう詞し〉how far/to what extent (one does something)
この道みちはどこまで続つづいているんだろう。
I wonder how far this road goes on.

Expressions· 7

どこかしらin some way; somehow or other · somewhere or other
どこへやらnowhere to be seen; disappeared; vanished
どこをどうhow; in what way; I wonder how
どこもかしこもall over; everywhere
どこにでもあるcommonplace; ordinary; ubiquitous

Show 2 more

どこにでもいるcommonplace; ordinary; found everywhere
どこからともなくfrom out of nowhere; from who knows where

Grammar

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

Kanji

何what
処dispose, manage, deal with
處place, locale, department
所place, extent

Related words

どの辺へん sense 1
どの辺 asks about a general area or approximate location, whereas どこ asks for an exact, unspecified place.

Politeness

どちらpolite 丁寧語N5sense 1
どちら is the more polite or formal way to ask 'where' or 'which direction,' while どこ is the plain, everyday form.

Don't confuse with· 5

ここN5sense 1
ここ means 'here,' a known place near the speaker, while どこ asks which place is unknown.
底そこN3sense 1
そこ means 'there,' a known place near the listener, while どこ is used to ask about an unspecified place.
あそこN5sense 1
あそこ means 'over there,' a specific known place far from both speaker and listener, unlike どこ which asks which place.

Show 2 more

そこN5
そこ is a demonstrative meaning 'there', while どこ is the interrogative 'where', and learners sometimes mix up the ko-so-a-do forms.
どこかN3
どこ is the interrogative 'where?' used in questions, while どこか is the indefinite 'somewhere', used to point to an unspecified place.

Word family· 19

どことなく
somehow; vaguely; for some reason
どこぞ
somewhere; someplace
どこら
where; whereabouts
どこかN3
somewhere; some place · in some way; in some respects; somehow
どこも
everywhere; wherever · nowhere; nothing (with negative verb)

Show 8 more

どこいら
where; whereabouts
どこでも
anywhere; everywhere
どこにも
(not) anywhere; nowhere · everywhere; anywhere
どこへも
nowhere; not anywhere
どこまで
how far; to what extent; up to what point
どこやら
somewhere; some place · somehow; in some way
どこどこ
such-and-such a place
どこそこ
such-and-such a place; some place or other

See all 19 in Explore →

Written forms

どこUsage94%
Everyday standard spelling; this word is usually written in kana.
何処Usage5%
- どこ
  Commonly understood kanji spelling, but kana どこ is normally preferred in ordinary writing.
- いずこ
  Literary or old-fashioned reading meaning 'where'; not the normal modern reading of 何処.
- いずく
  out-dated reading
  Obsolete or classical-style reading listed; mainly useful for older texts.
- いづこ
  out-dated reading
  Historical kana spelling variant of いずこ; mainly useful for older texts.
- いどこ
  out-dated reading
  Obsolete reading listed; unlikely in modern ordinary writing.
いずこUsage1%
ドコUsage<1%
いづこUsage<1%
out-dated reading
いずくUsage<1%
out-dated reading
何所
- どこ
  Less common alternative kanji spelling for どこ.
- いどこ
  out-dated reading
何處
out-dated kanji form
- どこ
  Outdated kanji form of 何処; useful mainly for older texts or search.
- いどこ
  out-dated reading
いどこ
out-dated reading

Etymology

どこ is a native Japanese interrogative place pronoun. The kanji spellings 何処 and 何所 combine 何, 'what,' with characters associated with 'place'; the exact historical derivation of the spoken form is not specified.