その

その is a demonstrative adjective meaning "that". It is placed directly before a noun to modify it, referring to something that is near the listener (or psychologically closer to the listener than to the speaker). It belongs to the こそあど (ko-so-a-do) system of demonstratives in Japanese.

Referring to something near the listener

When something is physically closer to the person you are speaking to, use その to point it out.

Referring to something previously mentioned

その is also common to refer back to something that has already been mentioned in conversation or is part of shared knowledge between the speaker and listener.

Comparison with この and あの

• この ("this") – refers to something near the speaker
• その ("that") – refers to something near the listener, or something just mentioned
• あの ("that over there") – refers to something far from both the speaker and listener, or something both parties already know about

その vs. それ

その must always be followed by a noun – it is a modifier (連体詞). In contrast, それ stands alone as a pronoun meaning "that (thing)".