Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Alternative spelling
其の

⟨so2 no2 → */sənə//sono/

From Old Japanese , distal demonstrative root, with (no) added to form the ordinary adnominal form 'that', as in 'that word', as opposed to the pronoun それ (sore).

Pronunciation

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Adnominal

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その (sono

  1. (deictically) that ... near you (near the addressee)
    (わたし)()みたいのは、その(ほん)です。
    Watashi ga yomitai no wa, sono hon desu.
    What I want to read is that book.
  2. (anaphorically) the ... we are talking about.
  3. ...of it; its; their
    その(ねえ)さん
    sono onēsan
    her elder sister
  4. used in a title and before a number to indicate that number of part, chapter, volume, episode, or installment; compare suffixes (-hen), (-wa), (-kan), (-shū), (-shō), (), (chū) and (ge)
    ()(ほん)(えい)()(ろん)その(さん)
    Nihon Eigaron Sono San
    Japanese Films: Part 3
Usage notes
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  • Sono is anaphorically used to refer to things and experiences that either the speaker or the listener knows about, but not both. Compare the two following sentences:
    その(ほん)はやすいですか。
    Sono hon wa yasui desu ka.
    Is that book (which we are talking about) cheap? (anaphorically)
    Is that book (I'm pointing to/near you/of yours) cheap? (deictically)
    あの(ほん)はやすいですか。
    Ano hon wa yasui desu ka.
    Is the book (which we both know) cheap? (anaphorically)
    Is that book (over there, which you and I can see) cheap? (deictically)
  • The hiragana spelling その is preferred to the kanji spelling 其の, which is rarely used.
Derived terms
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See also
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Interjection

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その (sono

  1. (used as filler during conversation) uh, umm, er
    Synonyms: あのう, ええっと

Etymology 2

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For pronunciation and definitions of その – see the following entry.
2
[noun] an orchard, plantation
[noun] a garden, park (especially one with trees)
[noun] a place, location
[proper noun] a female given name
[proper noun] a surname
Alternative spelling
(This term, その (sono), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as その, see Category:Japanese kanji read as その.)

References

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  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN