ここ

ここ means "here": the place where you, the speaker, are. 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:

• ここ – here, where the speaker is
• そこ – there, where the listener is
• あそこ – over there, away from both
• どこ – where

ここ or そこ

The word changes with the speaker. The place you call ここ is そこ to someone who is somewhere else – across the room, or on the phone.

ここ or この

ここ is a place and stands alone. To say "this room", with a noun following, the word is この: ×ここ部屋 is wrong.

With particles

ここ takes the particle a place name would take: に for where something is or where you are going, で for where something is done, から for "from".

With の it describes a noun by its place.

Usage notes

These go beyond pointing at a place you can see.

A point rather than a place

ここ can also point at a part of what is being discussed – a spot on a page, a step in an explanation.

こちら

こちら is the polite word for ここ, heard in shops and offices.