彼処

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
彼	処
あし Grade: S	こ Grade: 6
irregular	kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
彼處 (kyūjitai)

From Old Japanese. Appears to be a compound of 彼 (a, “that one over there”, distal marker, indicating something distant from both speaker and listener) +‎ し (shi, possibly the directional marker found in terms such as 昔 (mukashi, “ancient times”), 縦し (tatashi, “the standing or vertical direction”), 横し (yokoshi, “the sideways or horizontal direction”)) +‎ 処 (ko, “place”). May be the older form of modern asoko below.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あしこ [àshíkó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ɕiko̞]

Pronoun

彼(あし)処(こ) • (ashiko) 

1. (obsolete) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there
   • c. 1001–1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Wakana, part 1)

     彼処(あしこ)に籠(こも)りなむのち

     ashiko ni komorinamu nochi

     ...after hiding there...

See also

Classical Japanese pronouns and demonstratives

	a-/wa- “I, we” (first person)	na-/-ma- “you, ye, thou” (second person)	k- “this” (close to speaker)	s- “that” (close to listener)	a-/ka- “that over there” (far from both)	i-/ta-/nani- “who, what, where, how, when” (interrogative)	ono- “oneself” (reflexive)
Person	あ (a) あれ (are) わ (wa) われ (ware) まろ (maro)	な (na) なれ (nare) なんぢ (nanji) まし (mashi) いまし (imashi) みまし (mimashi) きみ (kimi)	こ (ko) これ (kore)	そ (so) それ (sore)	あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare)	た (ta) たれ (tare) なにがし (nanigashi)	おの (ono) おのれ (onore)
Thing			こ (ko) これ (kore)	そ (so) それ (sore)	あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare)	いづれ (izure) なに (nani)
Location			ここ (koko)	そこ (soko)	あしこ (ashiko) かしこ (kashiko)	いづく (izuku) いづこ (izuko) いどこ (idoko) どこ (doko)
Direction			こち (kochi) こなた (konata)	そち (sochi) そなた (sonata)	あち (achi) あなた (anata) かなた (kanata)	いづち (izuchi) いづら (izura) いづかた (izukata)
Manner			か (ka) かく (kaku) かくて (kakute) かう (kō)	さ (sa) さて (sate) しか (shika)		いか (ika)
Time						いつ (itsu)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
彼	処
あそ Grade: S	こ Grade: 6
irregular	kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
彼處 (kyūjitai)

For pronunciation and definitions of 彼処 – see the following entry.

【あそこ】 [pronoun] (deictically) that place, area, or part over there (far from the speaker and the addressee) [pronoun] (deictically) that organization or team over there (far from the speaker and the addressee) [pronoun] (anaphorically) that place, area, or part we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know) [pronoun] (anaphorically) that organization or team we both know (both the speaker and the addressee know) [pronoun] (slang, by extension from the sense of “down there”) genitals

(This term, 彼処, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
彼	処
あ Grade: S	こ Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
彼處 (kyūjitai)

Appears to be a compound of 彼 (a, “that one over there”, distal marker, indicating something distant from both speaker and listener) +‎ 処 (ko, “place”). First appears in the late 1500s, early 1600s, and used mostly in the Kansai region. Given the historical tendency for innovation in the Kansai region, the term may instead derive as an abbreviation of asoko above, by analogy with the -ko suffix in ここ (koko, “here”) and そこ (soko, “there”, closer to the listener than to the speaker).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あ​こ [áꜜkò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ko̞]

Pronoun

彼(あ)処(こ) • (ako) 

1. (dialectal) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there

Usage notes

Generally only used in the Kansai region.

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
彼	処
あす Grade: S	こ Grade: 6
irregular	kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
彼處 (kyūjitai)

Either a shift in pronunciation from asoko, or from ashiko.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あすこ [àsúkó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [a̠sɨᵝko̞]

Pronoun

彼(あす)処(こ) • (asuko) 

1. (rare, dialect, Hakata) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
彼	処
か Grade: S	こ Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
彼處 (kyūjitai)

Compound of 彼 (ka, “that one over there”, distal marker, indicating something distant from both speaker and listener) +‎ 処 (ko, “place”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠ko̞]

Pronoun

彼(か)処(こ) • (kako) 

1. (rare, obsolete) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there
   • 1483, 地蔵菩薩霊験絵詞 (Jizō Bosatsu Reigen Eshi, “Jizō Bodhisattva Miracle Picture-scroll”)

     彼処(かこ)を退(そ)き去(さ)る也(なり)

     kako o sokisaru nari

     ...[he] left that place...

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
彼	処
かし Grade: S	こ Grade: 6
irregular	kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
彼處 (kyūjitai)

Appears to be a compound of 彼 (ka, “that one over there”, distal marker, indicating something distant from both speaker and listener) +‎ し (shi, possibly the directional marker found in terms such as 昔 (mukashi, “ancient times”), 縦し (tatashi, “the standing or vertical direction”), 横し (yokoshi, “the sideways or horizontal direction”)) +‎ 処 (ko, “place”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) か​しこ [káꜜshìkò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ɕiko̞]

Pronoun

彼(かし)処(こ) • (kashiko) 

1. (rare) yon place, that place yonder, that place over there, that area over there, that part over there
2. (rare) that aforementioned place

See also

Classical Japanese pronouns and demonstratives

	a-/wa- “I, we” (first person)	na-/-ma- “you, ye, thou” (second person)	k- “this” (close to speaker)	s- “that” (close to listener)	a-/ka- “that over there” (far from both)	i-/ta-/nani- “who, what, where, how, when” (interrogative)	ono- “oneself” (reflexive)
Person	あ (a) あれ (are) わ (wa) われ (ware) まろ (maro)	な (na) なれ (nare) なんぢ (nanji) まし (mashi) いまし (imashi) みまし (mimashi) きみ (kimi)	こ (ko) これ (kore)	そ (so) それ (sore)	あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare)	た (ta) たれ (tare) なにがし (nanigashi)	おの (ono) おのれ (onore)
Thing			こ (ko) これ (kore)	そ (so) それ (sore)	あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare)	いづれ (izure) なに (nani)
Location			ここ (koko)	そこ (soko)	あしこ (ashiko) かしこ (kashiko)	いづく (izuku) いづこ (izuko) いどこ (idoko) どこ (doko)
Direction			こち (kochi) こなた (konata)	そち (sochi) そなた (sonata)	あち (achi) あなた (anata) かなた (kanata)	いづち (izuchi) いづら (izura) いづかた (izukata)
Manner			か (ka) かく (kaku) かくて (kakute) かう (kō)	さ (sa) さて (sate) しか (shika)		いか (ika)
Time						いつ (itsu)