means "over there": a place away from both you and the person you are talking to. It is a place word and a noun, so は and the other particles follow it directly.
It is one of a set of four:
- – here, where the speaker is
- – there, where the listener is
- – over there, away from both
- – where
。
The toilet is over there.
。
That over there is a school.
The word is , with a そ in it. The other three are こ, そ and ど with こ added, but ×あこ is not a word.
あそこ vs. そこ
English "there" covers both. is where the listener is, and is away from both of you.
。
The key is there.
Beside the listener.
。
The station is over there.
Away from both of you.
あそこ vs. あの
is a place and stands alone. In front of a noun the word is
: ×あそこ店 is wrong.
。
What is that place over there?
。
What is that shop over there?
With particles
takes the particle a place name would take:
for where something is or where you are going,
for where something is done,
for "from".
。
There is a park over there.
。
I can hear a voice from over there.
When the place is the answer to "which one?" or "where?", it takes .
。
That over there is the station.
With it describes a noun by its place.
。
The restaurant over there is good.
Usage notes
These go beyond pointing at a place you can see.
A place you both know
also names a place you and the listener both know from before, though it is nowhere in sight. A place only one of you knows is
.
。
The cake at that place is good, isn't it?
A shop the two of you have been to.
Lingaku